Level Up!
by Berserkeroo
Summary: Business was booming at Litwak's Family Fun Center & Arcade thanks to three games; Fix-It Felix Jr., Hero's Duty, and Sugar Rush. A decision has been made and it's time that a few games got their fair share. Younger!Wreck-It Ralph/Older!Vanellope von Schweetz. Slight Fix-It Felix Jr./Sgt. Calhoun.
1. Rumor Has It

**Disclaimer: **"Wreck-It Ralph" and all characters related to the movie belong to The Walt Disney Company, and/or their respective gaming companies. Wreck-It Ralph was created by Rich Moore, Phil Johnston, and Jim Reardon. Level Up! and any characters not associated in their own respective franchise belong to Berserkeroo. All rights reserved.

* * *

Another summer has come and went over the Litwak's Family Fun Center & Arcade. Business was in full bloom, but alas, fall has come; meaning children would be in school for half of the day. It was the last Saturday before school started and one youngster was determined to beat his high score.

Emerald eyes focused on the large console's screen as the player neared the end of the level. _Almost, almost, almost... Yes!_ The boy jumped for joy as he patched the last window of the game he loved the most. He watched as the Nicelanders gathered on top of the roof and threw the 8-bit wrecker off of the building into a puddle of mud. Just as he was about to put in another quarter for another game, the owner of the arcade called for closing time. He sighed, but put his quarter back into his pocket. He waved goodbye to the elder before riding his bike — more than likely heading home for his curfew.

Mr. Litwak, the owner of the arcade, patted the old game with fondness. "It's been a long time coming ol' friend. It kind of pains me to do this to you, but it's the kids vote over mine," he sighed as a lanky woman walked into the arcade. "I'm from the Lawt Sidney Company. I'm here to talk about what we have in store for Fix-It Felix Jr.," she said, shaking the man's hand. "Ah yes. I'm supposed to have others dropping by in a few minutes. I hope you don't mind talking with the others here ma'am," he smiled. "Not at all." Just as he ushered her into his office two other people came into the building.

The game consoles continued their demo screens until all of the humans were in the office. Most of the characters glanced at the game Fix-It Felix Jr. with a hint of concern. _Was it going to be unplugged? Was it going to be moved to another arcade? Who are the other two people? What are they all here for?!_

The Nicelanders huddled in front of the Niceland apartment complex. "Oh Jiminy Jaminy brother, what do you think is going to happen to the game?" Felix muttered as he eyed the closed office door. The burly wrecker wiped away the mud from his clothes. "I... I don't know." Out of the corner of his eyes he caught his best friend and president of Sugar Rush, Vanellope von Schweetz casting a worried look from the avatar selection screen. He cast the girl toothy grin to hopefully soothe her nerves, which worked for the most part.

Before anything else could be said the muffle of the conversations got louder until the doorknob jiggled. Every game jumped back into demo mode before the humans walked across the room. "We'll send someone to start the process tomorrow morning sir." Mr. Litwak gave the last of the paperwork over to the last of the representatives before locking up the arcade for the night.

"All clear!" Yuni, from DDR shouted once she saw Mr. Litwak's car zip down the road. Ralph let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He glanced down at the other occupants of the game before heading to the train that would take him to Game Central Station. The station was surprisingly quiet. No one knew who was getting what or whether it was a good or bad thing. All eyes went to Wreck-It Ralph once the giant made it out of the gate. For the first time in years, the Surge Protector didn't stop him, or not. "Random security check, sir. Name?" Ralph grumbled before replying, "Frogger."

"Name..." the blue male drawled out with zero interest. "Ugh! You know who I am. I'm in no mood for this… Wreck-It Ralph," he growled. "And where are you coming from?" the Surge Protector asked as he scribbled nothing onto his clipboard. "My game, Fix-It Felix Jr." the giant groaned. "And where are you heading?"

For a moment Ralph had to think on that. Before he could even think of anything, the sound of tires screeched across the tiled floors. A conglomerate of random sweets skidded through the Surge Protector. "He's going to Sugar Rush," the driver stated matter-of-factly. "Anything to declare?" he asked as if the incident didn't faze him. "You suck!" he snorted. "I get that a lot. Proceed." The blue man disappeared, only to appear a few gates away to stop Wario from exiting the Mario game.

A pair of hazel eyes went up to the pair that belongs to her favorite bad guy/hero. "What up Captain Snot-face?" Naturally the remark held no bite, but it didn't hold its usual cheery playfulness either. "Nothing Princess Underpants," he replied, and of course his remark didn't hold its usual playfulness as well. "That's president to you bub. So are we heading to Sugar Rush or will Admiral McLame have over there have to frisk ya?" she laughed a bit. This in turn made her friend chuckle. The large male sat at the back of the kart before zooming into Sugar Rush — luckily beating the Surge Protector before he could stop them.

The duo went down the pink road before making a left turn towards that lead away from the castle. He knew exactly where she was taking him — Diet Cola Mountain. The kart came to a halt. Vanellope glitches out of her kart before making her way to the sponge cake bed. There was an awkward silence between the two before the small president spoke.

"I know everyone's talking about your game getting... _unplugged_, but I wouldn't listen to them if I were you. Come on Ralphie-boy, ain't no way your game's getting unplugged. It's a classic! You saw the look on that kid's face today. Litwak would never get rid of your game." The statement seemed to push the elephant out of the room, or at least one of them. "But what about Sugar Rush? People are saying that one of those representative might be for your game."

Vanellope glitched onto one of her favorite spots — Ralph's shoulder. "No one knows who those two humans are for so they're nothing but rumors. Even if one was for my game, I doubt it would be anything bad considering the way the players like to use my glitch." She glitched off of his shoulder. "So quit worrying about it and lets have some fun Stinkbrain." Ralph had rolled his eyes at her _name of endearment_ as she so often called it. "Yes, oh wise one."

"To Tappers!" she decreed as soon as he hopped onto her kart. A mischievous glint twinkled in her eyes. Her companion knew all too well that this meant trouble. "Whoa!" he cried out as she hit the boost button. "Woohoo!"

* * *

(**A/N:** Well I decided to give this fandom a shot and see what I can come up with. To all of my _other_ readers, don't worry I'll still update the other stories. A few of them will have chapters out by the beginning of April. Hope you guys enjoy this prologue. The first chapter will be up after in a minute.)


	2. Upgrade You

**Disclaimer: **"Wreck-It Ralph" and all characters related to the movie belong to The Walt Disney Company, and/or their respective gaming companies. Wreck-It Ralph was created by Rich Moore, Phil Johnston, and Jim Reardon. Level Up! and any characters not associated in their own respective franchise belong to Berserkeroo. All rights reserved.

* * *

Usually Sundays meant that the arcade was closed, but Mr. Litwak's had business to attend to that day. The arrival of the owner sent a massive hysteria across GCS. He locked his car door and made his way to the locked doors. A blue blur cleared through the crowd, leaving a red echidna, a yellow fox, and a tall man with a mustache to follow him to the gate _Sonic the Hedgehog_. Several men and women ran on the walls or leapt over mass before entering the gate _Mortal Kombat._ With the station clear, it left plenty of space for a daring young racer to zoom into her game, _Sugar Rush_. Wreck-It Ralph ran from the station's tunnel to his starting position at the demo screen. "**I'M GONNA WRECK IT!**" he shouted, marking the start of the demo.

The other games managed the nearly impossible feat before the owner walked into their section of the arcade. He scanned the room. _Yup, everything's in order._ Just as he left it. In the parking lot, three technicians disembarked their trucks with a few boxes in hand. Mr. Litwak walked towards the back of the arcade, his hand on Fix-It Felix Jr. He called towards one of the technicians with a mouse logo on his chest.

The younger man held a box cutter, opening the package; a silver box was inside. Felix quickly glanced at the box before anyone could notice. "_An upgrade? It's an upgrade! We're not getting unplugged. We're getting upgraded! Yipee!_" he mentally cheered as he went through his demo programming. "I CAN FIX IT!" he shouted before going into small repairs.

Another technician went to Sugar Rush. The avatars on the screen did their best to ignore the man staring at the screen before pulling out a similar box. The upbeat theme song played as he tapped his foot to the beat. He pulled the side panel off of the game, which immediately grabbed Ralph's attention from the rooftop. "_What is he doing over there?_" Pixelated sweat began to pour down his face. "_Easy Ralph, I think Sugar Rush is getting an upgrade, like us._" Felix whispered as he repaired the nearby a window. "_We're going to get an upgrade?_" he almost said too loudly. The superintendent repaired the last window before hopping onto the roof. He nodded before all of the Nicelanders came to throw the giant off of the building. Before he could even hit the ground, the screen went black.

Vanellope's image distorted as she felt a glitch attack approach. Shock riddled all the other avatars as she went out of character and pressed against the screen that separated her from two of her closest friends. "_Ralph! Felix!_" she almost shouted. The man at the side of her console was too busy with the installation to notice the character's movements. The closest avatar to her, nudged her selection box to gain her attention. "_Ixnay on the eakoutfray!_" Taffyta whispered as she waved enthusiastically at no one. Just like Fix-It Felix Jr., Sugar Rush's screen went black.

* * *

Everything grew louder as the darkness began to fade. "_Oh my aching head..._" muttered the auburn haired behemoth. His large fingers massaged his temples as his surroundings came into focus. As far as he could tell the alleged _upgrade_ didn't do much, if anything, to the game. "Odd." Not far from him was his counterpart Fix-It Felix as well as the Nicelanders, all of which were exactly the same. The giant nudged the maintenance man. The diminutive man roused from his slumber as he too glanced around the game for any changes. "_Nothing! Nothing changed! Unbelievable. Some upgrade..._" Felix thought, a little offended. "_Well it beats being unplugged,_" he cringed at the thought.

The screen towards the player's world flashed to life as the Nicelanders finally came too. Everyone readied themselves for the demo to play. Just halfway through the demo things started to feel congested. A vibrant daytime screen rolled by with a new set up. The characters jumped to the next panel, which read _Fix-It Felix Jr. Junior._ Everyone quirked an eyebrow at the new title until their surroundings grew bigger, or they were getting _smaller_. Not much changed in Ralph's perspective. He was still big; just not as much as he use to be. By his guess he was at least 6'10. Felix shrunk by about a foot.

A new theme song played in the background describing the backstory of the original game. To everyone's amazement it was predominately about the antagonist. Their programing directed their demo roles — very similar to the previous game, but this time it was expanded to the entire town of Niceland.

Ralph noticed that he had a lot more energy and stamina than in his larger form. Just as he hurdled onto another rooftop, he glanced at his reflection on a glass building. He almost missed the ledge as he took in his upgrade. Wreck-It Ralph was definitely younger. He glanced at Felix and Q*bert who both looked determined to catch Ralph, Coily, Ugg, Wrong-Way, Slick, and Sam to stop their wrecking spree.

The younger Fix-It Felix Jr. and a stern looking Q*bert cornered the antagonists. Felix wagged his finger, tutting at their _deviant_ behavior. Just then, the citizens gathered at the bottom of the complex to protest their averse to all the damage that Wreck-It Ralph and his gang had caused. At the sight of trouble the other bad guys fled from Ralph, leaving him to deal with the heat. The original Nicelanders came from behind Felix and carried the bad guy above head. Surprisingly, there wasn't a mud puddle underneath him, but a rather beautiful lake. At least here, he didn't have to worry about getting dirty which he deemed an improvement. The Nicelanders threw him off the building that was about the same size as the Niceland apartment complex, and landed into the lake with a splash. The wrecker spat out a stream of water from between his gapped teeth. The game felt congested again only to morph back into the 8-bit world of the original game.

Mr. Litwak put a quarter in to test the game, and was pleased that he enjoyed playing the new installment almost as much as the original. His attention went to the screen of Sugar Rush, which just started up. For the most part the game stayed the same. Same J-pop theme, same racers; although something was definitely altered about each character. Their arsenal clearly had an upgrade as Snowanna Rainbeau hit Jubilee Bing-Bing with a winged blueberry flavored sundae, thus taking the lead.

The catchy theme song faded into a different yet catchy J-pop song as the demo transitioned to a different version of Sugar Rush — _Sugar Rush: Riders_. The demo consisted of a tanned teenager on a hoverboard zipping across the ocean before entering a cove. Three other _riders_ were on her tail with sugary weapons aimed at her. Just as they projectiles locked onto the girl, the screen zoomed in on her smirk. She kicked a clutch at the base of her hoverboard, giving it the extra torque needed to make the jump off the ramp onto the next part of the course. The game transition _again._

The final installment in the Sugar Rush upgrade was titled _Sugar Rush: Zero-G!_ Rather different in comparison to the other Sugar Rush segments, the theme song was in English. A flamboyant teenaged male flipped his black hair before giving a wink at the screen as he revved his aerial motorbike. He nabbed a glowing white ball of energy, which immediately radiated his body. Two other _bikers_ were in front of him; one with a large ice cream cone mace, the other with a Fun Dip stick glaive in hand. The brunette stood on the seat of his bike with a taffy whip in hand. The glow shifted from white to violet before transferring to his weapon. "_Sugar Rush Special Level One: Amethyst Rhapsody!_" Just as they were a few feet apart, the whip lashed at the two bikers, slamming their rides into one another. The two were left to sort figure out how to unstick their rides. The boy flipped his hair once more before giving a thumbs up to the camera.

The original Sugar Rush demo began to play once more, but not before Mr. Litwak decided to test the new additions as well as the old. He patted the game console as he left it to go through its demos. "Yup. This was a good idea investment. The kids will love it come tomorrow afternoon."

* * *

(**A/N:** Well this is all your going to get until I get time to update again. I have an exam coming up as well as other stories that are in need of an update. Since the chapters are relatively short, I'm sure you guys will get another one sometime soon. The theme for the Fix-It Felix Jr. Junior game is Wreck It, Wreck-It Ralph by Buckner and Garcia from the movie's OST. If you're curious about the theme song of _Sugar Rush: Riders_, I was thinking that it might be High Jump by Jeff Miyahara, which was a song I remembered from an event called Promageddon from GaiaOnline a few years back. The theme I was thinking for_ Sugar Rush: Zero G!_ was Heavenly Star by Genki Rockets from the game No More Heroes. Enjoy.)


	3. Are You Gonna Be There

**Disclaimer: **"Wreck-It Ralph" and all characters related to the movie belong to The Walt Disney Company, and/or their respective gaming companies. Wreck-It Ralph was created by Rich Moore, Phil Johnston, and Jim Reardon. Level Up! and any characters not associated in their own respective franchise belong to Berserkeroo. All rights reserved.

* * *

Rapid fire sailed across the battlefield. Neon green innards splattered across the ground as the screen neared the large tower. The character rolled out of the way just as a commanding female voice yelled, "_Watch your six!_" Soon after the beacon was set, earning the young heroine a medal. The demo screen rolled right after the final salute. The young gamer scanned the room to see if she wanted to keep playing _Hero's Duty_ or if another game was open. "Yes!" She slid a quarter into a red game console.

The screen scrolled from _Fix-It Felix Jr. Junior_ to _Fix-It Felix Jr._ She pondered which of the games that she wanted to play. She shrugged before choosing the former. Wreck-It Ralph shrunk down and became more high resolution before appearing in the introduction. He was enjoying a cozy nap on the branch of the tree until a few men in construction uniforms tore down the tree that he was slumbering in. He landed onto his head. Before the auburn man knew it, the entire forest was torn down and replaced with a town dubbed _Niceland_. Steam whistled out of his ears at the sight. "**I'm gonna wreck it!**" he shouted, now scaling the building.

The player quirked her brow in interest at the younger Ralph before metal plates started falling from the building. The new Nicelanders shouted, "Fix it Felix!" Just as that was stated the maintenance man entered from stage right. "I can fix it!" The girl was not as impressed since the gameplay was the same; that is until she got to the top. Wreck-It Ralph growled, hopped to another building, and to started to throw things at Felix. Quickly, the girl responded and dodged the items until a colossal steel girder came her way. "_Whoa boy..._" she muttered until she hit the reaction command. Felix ran across the girder and jumped onto the ledge of the other building.

Felix stepped forward with his hammer in hand, ready to take down his nemesis/secret ally, until Coily, Ugg, Wrong-Way, Slick, and Sam made their appearance from behind the wrecker; wicked laughs could be heard from the game's sound system. The girl's sapphire eyes bulged as she witnessed what happened next. The Wreck-It gang — as they called themselves — captured the younger repairman and threw him off of the building. "Holy..." A reaction command button appeared on screen again, which the player pressed just in time. He managed to grab a street light and drop to the ground safely. The bantam sized man eased back as glass started to fall from the sky. Just behind him Q*bert started to speak. To the girl's astonishment Felix could understand and respond in Q*bert-ese. The superintendent shook the creature's foot as they hopped to the new task at hand.

Now players could switch between Felix and Q*bert, as both of them were needed to repair the building. She focused on matching the panels with Q*bert until Coily decided to join the party and re-wreck the building. While she was distracted, Ralph threw a brick down at her, consequently ending the game. Her cheeks puffed out as she was determined to beat and master the new Fix-It Felix Jr. installment. Just as the quarter almost slid into the slot, the arcade owner called for _closing time_. "Next time," she vowed toward the demo screen. With the last child out of the building, Mr. Litwak closed the arcade.

"All clear!"

Everyone relaxed as the owner left. Ralph assisted his counterpart to his feet once the coast was clear. "You okay?" he asked as his friend dusted himself off. "Yes siree. It not like it's the first time someone couldn't beat the game." Felix gave himself an approving look once he was clean. The original Nicelanders congratulated the two of a job well done, as well as the game's latest _official_ players. "I'm going to head to Tappers to celebrate our game's upgrade with Tammy. We haven't had an upgrade since," he paused to think, "... ever. Want to come with or do you have other plans?" he offered as the pair waited for the train. "I'll come by after I pick up the squirt. It's Sugar Rush's first upgrade too so I'm sure she'll want to celebrate with us."

"Sounds like a plan brother. See you two there," he replied while walking away. Not getting a foot outside the gate, Ralph went through his usual routine with the Surge Protector. After getting the all clear he entered into Sugar Rush. Just outside of his scope he could see three groups gathered at the base of the castle. "That's a lot of avatars..."

* * *

Vanellope pulled to a complete stop as soon as the all clear was given. Her long legs exited the larger version of her kart. She pulled her goggles off of her face to address the half naked _riders_ and the sweets armored _bikers_. The upgrade did more to her game that she had anticipated. The respective groups stood divided, not sure of how to approach the new situation. The _drivers_ of the original Sugar Rush noticed that their president has arrived to hopefully sort out the matter.

Her leadership coding stood at the forefront of her base programming. "Let's not beat around the bush. Who are you people?" she asked the supposed leaders of the new upgrades. "I'm Everlyn Gobberstein, representative of _Sugar Rush: Riders_. We're surfing racers. We live over by the new beach area. All of us live in the Sprite Remix suburbs over there," she pointed out casually towards the town nearby the lemon-lime soda ocean. "I've been programed to know who you are. You're Princess Vanellope von Schweetz! It's nice to meet ya your highness!" Everlyn beamed. She could hear her princess mutter something about being a _president_, but thought nothing else of it. The boy with the licorice black hair glanced towards the president. "The name's Roxas Popper, representative of _Sugar Rush: Zero G!_ We live on the Rocky Road mountain range," he thumbed at the new ice cream mountain range. "We're sky racers/sky fighters. Depends on the players choice."

Vanellope extended her hand. "Welcome to Sugar Rush newbies. So you guys are representatives, eh?" she quirked an ebony eyebrow. "Yeah, or ambassadors. Whichever works," Roxas stated as he smirked at the skies. "You're still the official ruler of Sugar Rush, naturally, but we're just the head of our respective subgroups. If you need something that deals with our games, you can come talk to us and we'll see what we can do," the tanned teen cheered.

"Alright I got ya. Let's see... Swizzle can you take the Zero-G! group and give them a tour of Sugar Rush? And Adorabeezle, you can take the Riders group and do the same, 'kay?" she asked, though she knew that they would do it regardless. Out of her peripheral she could see the outline of a large male in overalls. "Ralph!" she squeaked before running down the lemon cake road. Ralph anticipated her embrace and crouched down to catch her until she was just a few feet from him. "_She got bigger..._" he thought as the teen didn't waver in her pounce of affection.

The force of the hug toppled both of them to the ground. Ralph landed straight on his back while Vanellope managed to snuggle between his arm and chest — still clinging to her best friend. "Hi Sargent Scuzzbucket. You look smaller. Did your upgrade or whatever shrink you? _Rotten programmers. He was fine the way he was..._" she muttered the latter in mild outrage. "Not exactly. The upgrade made Felix and I younger so we can have the strength and stamina for the additional levels and programming. You..." he drawled out as he took in her image.

"Yeah, I got older..." she stated as if it were no big deal, though based off of how she toppled him over, it would take some getting use to on both of their ends. He placed her onto his shoulder as though it didn't bother him. "_Still light as a feather_." He glanced up at her as she did likewise. "Felix and Calhoun are at Tappers to celebrate Fix-It Felix Jr.'s upgrade, you should come along. We can do a joint upgrade celebration." Vanellope looked at him as though that didn't intrigue her as much as what she had in mind. "I don't know. I do have my duties as president to attend to with the new avatars and all," she drawled out. The giant rolled his eyes at the front. "I'll buy your root beer."

"Sold!"

Roxas noticed that his president was leaving on the shoulders of a tall man. "Who the fizz is that?" he asked with a scrunched up expression. Swizzle glanced over his armored shoulder to get a look at their game's savior. "That's Wreck-It Ralph. He's from the game Fix-It Felix Jr. He saved our game from some psycho from an unplugged game about a year ago. President von Schweetz has been tight like this," he said with crossed fingers, "... with him ever since."

"Oh really now?" he gave a final glance to the leaving pair. From within the castle a tall silhouette studied the group's departure. A pair of crimson eyes glanced up at rock candy stained window. "You alright man?" a female biker asked as she took a glance at the window. "Thought I saw something. I guess it was nothing. Lets get this tour started. We might find a cool place to ride on the terrains." The brunette didn't spare the royal structure another look.

* * *

(**A/N:** Why do I lie to myself about updating? Anways, I updated this because class was cancelled and I didn't want to study today since I had the free time. So chapter update! I know not much is going on for now, but soon my dear watchers, you shall have your reward. Enjoy!)


	4. Buy You A Drink

**Disclaimer:** "Wreck-It Ralph" and all characters related to the movie belong to The Walt Disney Company, and/or their respective gaming companies. Wreck-It Ralph was created by Rich Moore, Phil Johnston, and Jim Reardon. Level Up! and any characters not associated in their own respective franchise belong to Berserkeroo. All rights reserved.

(**A/N:** Thanks for all the nice reviews guys! :D I need to stop dancing and post this chapter.

**Dixie Darlin:** The fact that they're official characters will be explained later in the story, which will be one of the same reasons that will cause _something_ later on in the story that I won't tell. Their age will be addressed in the story eventually, but to the impatient Ralph is 19-20 in his younger form and Vanellope is around 15-16. And you will hate me for not revealing who this is until... next chapter. Sorry folks. ;P)

* * *

Once the pair dismounted the train to GSC, they ran into the same old problem. "Name?" Ralph ruffled his hair in frustration, but he went with the mildly painful procedure. The pair was getting a paroxysm of awkward stares as they passed certain game characters. Vanellope was the first to notice. "Hey Stinkbrain. You ever get the feeling that you're the center of everyone's attention," she asked as she watched White Bomberman jumped at being caught red handed. The minute hero was rapidly blowing out the fuse that he accidentally ignited in his excitement. His group of friends sighed in relief once it was out. "The only time I'm the center of someone's attention is when the Surge Protector is giving his _random security checks_," he snorted at the thought. "Why do you ask?"

"I could swear everyone's looking at us," the monarch in denial replied. "I wonder why they would do that. Maybe it's the way we look in our upgrades." His coding shifted across his frame before reverting to his original game design and back to his younger version. Vanellope almost fell off of his shoulder at the sudden movements, but managed to remain in place. She slowly licked her finger before twisting it mercilessly in his ear. "Ew!" he shouted as he flailed about. Vanellope glitched off of him and started to laugh.

"Vanellope!" he reprimanded. "You deserve it. I almost fell off!"

"It's not like I wouldn't have caught you or you could have glitched before even hitting the floor." Ralph rubbed his finger in his ear to try to get rid of the sugar-saturated saliva. He examined his finger to see if he could actually find something. His companion grabbed him by the arm to continue the remainder of their journey to Tappers, and away from the prying eyes.

In the corner of the room, the jukebox was playing a song that mixed jazz, swing, and techno. A few people were on the moderate sized dance floor. Sgt. Calhoun took her eyes off of her drink and noticed the hard to miss villain over the crowd. She put two fingers to her lips and whistles for their attention. The pair met the married couple at the bar.

Ralph took Vanellope and tried to place her onto the stool, but he received resistance from her. "I'm big enough to do it myself," she huffed before settling into her seat; her slender legs crossed eloquently. Felix watched as she did so. Before he could stare too long, a firm hand slapped him upside his head. "_Keep those eyes in your head Fix-It_," a stern voice warned in a whisper. The commander glanced over the to the teenager once her husband was _in check_. "Well look at you."

Vanellope spun around in her seat while striking a pose. "Thanks. Not only am I older, I've got a higher resolution!" she stated as admired the redefined textures in her hoodie. Two mugs slid down the bar table with a smirk from the friendly barkeeper. "To getting an upgrade and hanging out with your best buds!" she held up her mug. "To the upgrade," everyone else chorused before tapping their mugs together. Each chugged back their drink back.

Ralph chuckled as he recalled a _fond_ memory of the one time she had one drink too many. "What are you laughing at?!" she instantly became defensive. "Nothing, nothing at all president Fartfeathers," he muffled his laughter with his mug. She seethed at his denial, but reluctantly let it go. Something a little more of her style started to play on the jukebox.

Vanellope sauntered over to the dancefloor, already mingling in with the beat. "Care for a dance dearest?" Felix asked. The sergeant grinned, as she couldn't find it easy to deny the man. The couple left the bar to join in on the groove. This left Ralph alone at the bar. Another mug slid down the bar.

* * *

Swizzle and Adorabeezle decided to tour as a group, and to their success, it gave all of the avatars an opportunity to get to know each other a little more. Out of the corner of his eyes, Swizzle could see that Roxas seemed distracted. "Hey Adorabeezle, you mind taking over for a minute," he asked. The frosty racer nodded as she pointed out more of the wonders of Sugar Rush. The green haired teen slowed down to the back of the group, grabbing the brunette in the process.

Roxas snapped out of his haze once he realized that they were a ways away from the group. "Are you okay Roxas? You aren't even paying attention anymore?" he asked. The biker glanced over his shoulder to spit. "It's just... I thought I saw someone in the castle. Does anyone else live in the castle beside the president?" The "Swizz" had to think on that. "Uhm, the only character I can think of that live in the castle besides Vanellope is probably her one of her cabinet members, Sour Bill," he scratched his head to see if there was anyone else, but there wasn't. "He's candy though, isn't he?"

"Well yeah. We're the only human based characters in the game, right?" A low growl emitted from the back of the ambassador's throat. "Whipney!" he called out ahead. A white haired girl glanced back.

Whipney jogged back a bit as the males slowly caught up to her. "Yes sir?" she asked. Her pale blue eyes became hardened as her assistant matrix ran through her memory; he wouldn't call her to attention unless he meant business. "I'm heading out on a run. Take over the group until I get back. _I smell something, and it's not the bottle cap flowers._" The biker pulled out his key remote and clicked a red button.

Violet and black streaked across the sunny skies; a loud roar followed in its wake. The blur was on a collision course for the trio. Swizzle tucked and rolled out of the impending danger. The bike came to a stop few inches from its rider. Roxas mounted his bike before taking to the skies. "I hope our cars can do that," he muttered while he watched the sky racer's departure.

* * *

Back at the bar, Ralph was on his sixth root beer; a big mistake on his part. He wasn't drunk, at least that's what he told himself, but he definitely wasn't as sober as he usually was. "_What the hell is in this? I can usually handle more than this_," he thought until he realized something. "Oh snot," he muttered as he realized that he was younger than he usually was when he was drinking.

Vanellope waltzed off of the dance floor to join her partner in crime. She lifted her mug to find it empty. "Stinkbrain, you drank mine," she whined at the empty container. Approaching from behind, Ken swaggered over to the bar. "I'll get ya another one lil' lady," he winked at her. "Nah, I've got one chump who said he would buy mine, right Ralph," she leaned over his shoulder like she usually would when she was younger; unknowingly pressing her modest sized cleavage onto the wrecker. The martial artist backed away with his hands in surrender. "I'm sorry, I didn't know man. I'll just... Bye," he walked away in a hurry.

"Well that was weird," Ralph muttered. "Very. Now where's my root beer," she asked. A drink slid down the bar towards the teen. The villain glanced over to his friend. "You should watch how much you drink. You have the Random Roster Ra-," he warned her before being interrupted. "Holy mother of monkey milk! The race! Oh geez! Later Admiral Toe-jam," she shouted as she ambled out of the bar.

* * *

Roxas growled as his search was for not. He glanced once more at the stained windows before revving his bike to life. The loud roar of the bike's sugary engine echoed across the area. On the path headed away from the castle, he saw Vanellope making a mad dash for the castle, probably to retrieve her car for the _Grand Random Roster Race._ Why the change of the name? Well, lets keep that under our helmets for now.

He rode alongside his leader as she was heading for the castle. "Hop on your highness. Don't want to be late to the race now would we?" he smirked as he saw that she could still find time to be irritated about being a monarch. Once the bike stopped, she sat on back to take him up on his offer; her disdain could wait.

The skyrider waited outside for her, and before long, she zoomed past him with an arrogant smirk on her face. "_Oh. The princess has got sass,_" he whispered with a smirk. After kicking the kickstand, his bike was ready to do what it did best; fly! Roxas soared above her with an equally arrogant smirk. He went into hysterics when he distinctly heard her shout, "Cheater!" Just in sight, the other racers, riders, and bikers were at the starting line.

Vanellope glitched to her podium to announce the race. "Sugar Racers, Rider, and Bikers, alike, we are gathered her to start our first _Grand Random Roster Race_! We all start at the sight of the green light. No one is to interfere with any other installation's race, or in the biker's case," she flipped a bottle cap candy; tails. "... fight! You interfere; you're automatically taken out of the race/fight. Any questions," she asked. "No? Good."

She glitched into her cart before Sour Bill could get to the starting line to launch the lights. The sky fighters twisted their handlebars in exhilaration — their bikes sounding just as lively. The riders kicked the clutch on their boards, a plethora of colors emitted from underneath. Vanellope snapped on her upgraded goggles with a smirk._ Red. Yellow. Yellow. Green!_ The three games diverged into their separate paths; the drivers by road, the bikers by ramp, and the riders by sea.

It took very little on Vanellope's part to gain the lead with a gap. This actually impressed the _Zero G!_ ambassador. "_So she's got skills, eh?_" he thought as he observed. Kassi Rolla rode pulled a lever to transfer her aerial bike to a terrain bike to get one of the Sugar Rushes in the crevices of one of the cocoa rock hoops. Just before she could get out of bounds, she pulled the lever once more to dispatch her bike's wings. "_Sugar Rush Special Level One: Cinnabar Cyclone!_"

Roxas took a deep nosedive before pulling up in a barrel roll to evade the heat seeking cinnamon buns; but one hit him right in the tail pipe. He banged his fist against his dashboard. "Quit casting goo goo eyes and get in the game man!" a red and white haired female shouted as she pulled out from the jubilee of cherry bombs. The concussive force knocked her off of her bike. She fazed through the green wire before dematerializing to the ground. "_Candice Twist: Out!_" a voice shouted from the multi-screened announcement board.

Down on the ground, Rancis was hot on Vanellope's bumper. She pressed the reaction button to use her random, yet lucky arsenal weapon; a mint chocolate ice cream bowl. The dessert shot backwards before taking out the front of the racer's car. The poor boy flew passed the president, but was dematerialized before he could get hurt. "_Rancis Fluggerbutter: Out!_" It was down to the last eight racers. Rancis made number nine so he would be up for selection, but who would come out as number one today?

For a game that was based off of a human water sport, the heat was on! Everlyn was knocked off of her board by the late second half of the race. It was down to the final five; Masha McLows, Sandae Splitz, Drew Berry, and Rio DiCrema. Sandae and Rio surfed over the cavern towards the finish line. The cavern began to get narrower as a coil started to form. Only one was getting through.

Sandae fluttered her chocolate colored eyes to the boy in a flirtatious manner. Rio didn't pay attention to the sugar stalagmite until he ran into it. He could hear the taunting laughter of his opponent who was sure to win. She crouched over to gain the momentum for the win until a jet of ginger ale knocked her off of her board. Drew tucked his blue hair back in a taunt before making the spiral and crossing the finish line.

The other two games seemed to finish with Vanellope winning Sugar Rush — with Gloyd and Taffyta close behind — and Patchrick Soeur winning Zero G! — with Roxas taking Patchrick down with him for a close tie and Almondandro in third. The respective winners gained a coin to add to their collections. "Alright racers, riders, and fighters, we'll see you on the avatar screen tomorrow afternoon at opening time. Rest up newbies. You're going to need it!" Vanellope said as she took off down the lemon cake road to the castle. A pair of crimson eyes watched in curiosity as she went on to the building.

Inside the castle, the teenage president was settling in for bed, well, not before a midnight snack that is. She held a plate of snickerdoodles in one hand and a glass of milk in the other. A cookie was dangling from her mouth until someone grabbed her arm and pulled her into the shadows. Her mouth was covered to stifle her scream for her oreo guards. Roxas put his finger to his mouth to shush the girl.

"Sprinkle coated peanut pops dude! What the heck?!" she cursed. He put his hands up to try to pacify her. "I'm just here to protect you princess. I saw a person in the castle. No human character is supposed to live in here besides you, right? So I deduced that there's an intruder in Sugar Rush and I'm not letting anything happen to our game's leader!" he hissed as he scanned the corner through his peripheral. _Nothing_. "No one can get passed my gua-" The ruby eyed boy looked at her quizzically to see if she would finish that statement.

A long human like silhouette cast off the walls from around the corners. "There it goes!" he shouted before taking off in a sprint to catch the intruder. Vanellope's eyes enlarged at whom she thought she saw as she ran after the figure. She ran into the back of Roxas who was at a dead end — a sugar cube wall. "You believe me now?"

Vanellope called her oreo guard to attention to look for the intruder. "I need three of you at the Code Room. No one gets in except me," she ordered. The oreos saluted before rushing to their task at hand. She glanced at Roxas who didn't seem too far away from her. "You should rest president Von Schweetz. I can keep guard of your room," he offered. "You are going to be on the avatar screen tomorrow Roxas. You need sleep too," she declined. He chuckled. "I'll only have to worry about doing something stupid if I'm in NPC mode. If the player is in control then I'll be fine."

The two brunettes had a stare down as to who would back down. "Then I order you," she quipped. "Being a little tyrannical in this democracy aren't we? Democracy means the people have the vote so I win," he shot back. "You're my ambassador! So I get the final say!" They went back and forth for a while, until a yawn escaped the tiring president.

Roxas carried the struggling girl to her chambers before putting her into the soft bedding. He scanned the room before taking a seat in one of the canapés. Soft, even breathing filled the room. "_Finally. She's so stubborn._"

* * *

(**A/N:** So you liking it so far? I think I made this one a little longer than my other small chapters, but I'm sure that you guys don't mind it all that much. See ya next time.)


	5. My Mother's Eyes

**Disclaimer:** "Wreck-It Ralph" and all characters related to the movie belong to The Walt Disney Company, and/or their respective gaming companies. Wreck-It Ralph was created by Rich Moore, Phil Johnston, and Jim Reardon. Level Up! and any characters not associated in their own respective franchise belong to Berserkeroo. All rights reserved.

* * *

Softly pattering across the sugar floors, the green colored advisor made his way to the _presidential suite_, as it was now dubbed. As he entered the room, he was tackled to the floor by the on edge guard. This of course did faze the sour confection, but he would appreciate not being body slammed to the floor. "Will you get off of me Ambassador Popper?" Sour Bill droned. The biker slowly arose off of him. "Sorry about that. You can't be too careful," he stated.

Sour Bill walked over to the now awake president. "President Von Schweetz, you have a bill from Ambassador Gobberstein on the official tariff on soda being imported from Sprite Shores that need to be validated, and a meeting after today's _Grand Random Roster Race_ with the Candy Cove Congress members about making room for another committee." Vanellope groaned before throwing herself back into her cotton candy pillows. "_Can anyone do anything without me holding their hands?!_" she muttered. "Also, breakfast is ready so you can have a decent meal before the arcade opens," he added with the papers in hand.

After Vanellope took a Godiva pen from her drawer, she took one of the papers. She skimmed over the papers as she began to walk out of the room. Just as she opened the door, she glanced back. "The arcade opens in about two hours. Take a nap. You've earned it," she said before taking her leave. Roxas rolled his eyes as he watched her leave. "_Yeah, yeah, yeah..._" he muttered as he went to retrieve his vehicle.

The leader of the Zero G! sector decided to go home for the time being. The arcade would be open soon. Whoever was in the castle wouldn't be so stupid to try anything with everyone actively awake, or so he hoped anyways. Out of the corner of his eyes he noticed that a few of bikers were already awake, and as he could see, they were practicing a few moves for the aerial to the terrain portion of the racetrack. He obliged the other motorcyclist before entering his home.

His head hit the marshmallow pillow with a sigh. "I hope the president will be okay."

Inside the castle, said president was up to her waist in paperwork. She let out a groan. "Ugh! I just had to go out drinking last night, didn't I? I blame the root beer." Another stack of papers was put into her out bin. She cast a glance over to the stained window that led to the train station. "_I need to get Ralph, Felix and Tammy as soon as arcade closes; especially I really saw who I thought I saw._" Another signature went across the papers as she put another finished document away.

* * *

Sandae leaned in on the tip of her board as she surfed through the funnel of the wave. "_Hold it, hold it!_" she mentally chanted until the cheat code was unlocked. "_Sugar Style Bonus Rush! Hang Ten Beach Honey!_" a male announcer stated in the stereotypical suffer dialect. The surfer was given a Sugar Rush; a false Sugar Rush. The player controlling the avatar knew just what to do with this.

He waited until he was a few feet from the rows of Sugar Rush spheres before placing the fake and taking a new one. Just as he pulled away, he could hear one of the NPC's wail in defeat; there was now a gap between the player and the avatars behind him. Sandae angled right to make the curve to the finish line. "_Kowabunga dude! Sundae Splitz wins!_" The sprinkles confetti rained from the skies as the avatar waved at the crowd on the beach.

The demo screen started to play once more. The boy pondered which installment to play, after all this was what, his fourth game in a row? Just as he was about to put his quarter in a person groaned from behind him; it was a girl. "Which one do you want to play? I'll race ya!" he challenged. The girl beamed with excitement at the challenge. "Sugar Rush! Sugar Rush!"

The competitors picked their respective players — the boy with Minty and the girl with Vanellope. The screen split in two once the track was selected. _Red. Yellow. Yellow. Green!_ The race was on! Taffyta knocked Vanellope and Minty out of the way and took first place in the final lap. The players dropped their jaws at their second and third place trophies displayed on the screen. "I demand a redo!" the girl shouted. "Yeah, she came out freaking of nowhere!" the boy concurred.

Before their vengeance could be sought, the arcade came to closing time. The owner locked up and left for his home.

* * *

As soon as the _all clear_ was given, the president of Sugar Rush drove down the tracks to GCS. She let out a disgusted groan when the Surge Protector decided now was a good time to give his random security checks. "Proceed." Her car zoomed through the station until it went through the gate to _Fix-It Felix: Extended_.

She went around the town to see if she could find any of her friends, but couldn't find them. "Where are they?!" she shouted. Deanna noticed the girl and flagged down her car. "Are you looking for Felix and Ralph?" she asked. "Uh, yeah. You know where I can find 'em?"

"Tamora came by not too long ago to grab them to help around with clearing a collapsed railway in Hero's Duty." Vanellope thanked her before pulling a rather dangerous maneuver to get back the gate. By her luck, the Surge Protector decided to leave her alone this time. She parked her car at the subway station. Her eyes were ever vigilant in the game. The others never let her enter the game when she was younger, but her priorities to her game led her to make the choice.

Loud grunts slowly grew louder as she followed the signs to the railway station. Ralph hefted another girder overhead before setting it in place for Felix to fix. She kicked a piece of debris by mistake, sending the trigger-happy marine on high alert. "Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" she held her hand up. Sgt. Calhoun lowered her gun with a reprimanding look on her face.

"How many times have we told you not to come here? You could have been eaten by a stray Cy-bug or one of the Sandtraps! What were you thinking?" she shouted as she stalked towards the girl. Vanellope glared at the older woman. She thought that with her upgrade that her friends wouldn't treat her like she was still a child that couldn't defend herself. "What was I thinking? I was thinking that I could come to one of my friends when I needed her! Do you really think that I wouldn't take something like that seriously after they almost destroyed my game? Do you think that I would risk dying outside of my game for nothing!" she spat with tears staining the corners of her eyes.

Felix and Ralph glanced at each other. "_This must be serious,_" the unknowingly agreed in unison. Sgt. Calhoun's tough facade was broken once she realized that she made the mistake of speaking without knowing the situation. She scratched the back of her neck. "I'm sorry, alright. You'd never get that ballsy unless something was _really_ bugging you. What wrong or who do I need to manhandle?"

Vanellope settled her nerves before speaking. "After the Grand Random Roster Race yesterday, I was heading back home. One of the biker from the upgrade grabbed me and told me that he saw someone suspicious in the castle earlier that day. The only humans in the game are racers and no one can get passed Sour Bill or the oreo guards," she glitched a little. "Take it easy kid. What's getting you this flustered," Tamora put her hand on the girl's shoulder. "It's not a what, it's a who. Roxas saw his shadow and we followed him to a dead end. I thought I saw... King Candy."

"Turbo!" the males hissed in the background. "What am I gonna do?"

"The railway can wait. We've got to catch him before he can do anything to harm Sugar Rush or any other games in the arcade!" Ralph said as he slammed one of his fists into his palm. "Then let's quit pussy footing around the subject and nip this weed in the bud!" the marine stated.

* * *

Roxas stretched out a bit once his shift was over. He appreciated the nap he had before opening, but he felt a strongly engineered determination intertwined in his code to watch out for his president, but it had to wait until he finished with the meeting he held with the candy citizens and bikers of Zero G! Despite the game being upgraded a few days ago, the task felt repetitive. "_I swear I wish this game had pain killer. No amount of candy could fix this boredom!_" he thought as a chocolate bunny had the floor. "... and that Ambassador Popper is why I think that we should have a police department of our own."

"I'm sure your wife and twenty seven kids would appreciate the up in security, but our installment wasn't programed with a police department. The programmers don't think we have lives after hours so they just left all of us under the protection of the SPD. If it really concerns you Mr. Whitetail, I'll talk with some of the other fighters about making a voluntary police department." The rabbit seemed to agree with the statement. "Is there any more concerns that need to be addressed? Any at all?" There was silence. "Meeting adjourned."

Roxas took in a deep breath. The skies were perfectly clear, which was perfect for flying. The sugar-imbued wind caressed his hair as he flew over the game. A yellow cloud trailed down the road to the castle. The representative pressed a button on his bike. A scope mounted from his dashboard. He peered into the device to see the president with the guy from the other day riding alongside a couple on a hoverboard. He knew that based on their design that the couple wasn't apart of the game. He took a nosedive before transferring his bike to terrain mode.

"What up with the crew?" he asked as he rode alongside the group. "These are my friends. I brought in a little help for our uninvited guest." she answered. The castle was in sight. The group dismounted their ride before walking up the stairway to the castle. "Anything I can do to help ma'am?"

"Without you I wouldn't have known Candy was freely walking around. It would be kind of wrong to just cut you out of the plan," Vanellope said as they entered the castle. "So what is the plan?" the biker asked. "For now, we're going to that so called dead end. I've got a hunch," Tamora said.

The sugary wall came into view as they neared. Sgt. Calhoun was the first to take a step to the wall. She pressed her ear to the wall as she knocked. _Hollow_. She felt alongside the wall as she felt for a loose brick. One of the bricks went inward, opening a secret tunnel. "I knew it!" Vanellope unintentionally grabbed onto Ralph's arm. This caught Roxas' attention, but he knew now wasn't a time to ask, nor should it have been any of his concern. "I didn't even know this place had any secret tunnels so how could Turbo..."

"It's no time to think on it now. There could be several in this wing; hell there could be a couple of hundred in the entire castle," Ralph stated, while Calhoun peered over the ledge with her finger on her gun's trigger. "Actually, there's 72 hidden doors with 674 different tunnel ways," a feminine voice said. "Is little Vanny giving you kids a tour or something?" the woman asked.

A red dot was on the woman's chest faster than she could blink. She pulled Vanellope to her bosom, away from the _crazed_ marine. "No one's laying a hand on my baby! Where are the guards when you need them?!" she glared at the other woman. Vanellope struggled against the strange woman. "Ralph get this screwball away from me!" she panicked. The woman flicked the girl in the head. "Is that any way to talk to your mother young lady? I taught you better than that, but then again, you have my sassy mouth."

"My mom? I don't have a mom, or parents in general." Vanellope said confused. "Oh, now you're just breaking my heart. Then again when that little toadlicker scuttled around in the Code Room, I'm not all that surprised that you can't remember," she said. Calhoun was conflicted between keeping her gun on the woman or not. "_The fuck is this development?!_" she thought.

"I'm your mother and the queen on Sugar Rush, Queen Confection. I'm sure your father will be happy to see you wherever that man is," the so-called queen said. "Look lady, you had me at mother, now you're telling me I have a dad too?" Vanellope said with a quirked eyebrow. "You can check the Code Room for our code boxes anytime you want to Vanny-fanny."

"Mom!" she whined at the embarrassing name. She paused at what she just admitted. A memory began to process as if it were triggered.

_Vanellope was playing in a small box designed to look like a kart in the throne room. She ran around the room until she tripped on her untied shoes. She started to sniffle at the cut that was on her knee. "Aw, my widdle Vanny-fanny fell down didn't she. Mommy's here. Don't cry," Queen Confection said in a soothing voice to her sniffling daughter. "I'm not going to cry," the princess pouted as she snuggled into her mother's busts as if it were the most comfortable place in all of Sugar Rush. "That's my girl! Now let's go find daddy,'kay. We've been talking about taking you on a trip to the cart factory in a few days for you to get your first kart. Then we'll teach you how to drive," the queen said. "And then I can drive for reals?!" the younger version of Vanellope asked. "That's the plan."_

"-ellope... Vanellope!" she heard one of her friends call out. She shook her head as the memory faded. Her gaze went across the room until they fell upon a pair of hazel eyes similar to hers. They were indisputably filled with the love that only a mother could have. "You... You really are my mom. _Holy mice on fire I have a mom..._" she whispered as she ceased her struggling. Calhoun took her gun off of the woman, at least for now. "We're awfully sorry ma'am..." Felix said with an embarrassed blush on his face.

Vanellope had several questions for her mother. _Where were you all this time? Why wasn't she ruling over Sugar Rush instead of King Candy last year? Why didn't you come looking for me?_ All of these, she knew had to wait until the threat was out of the way. "Then we have an entire royal family to protect. The enemy could be anywhere?" Roxas said as he cracked his taffy whip. "Enemy? Who would be after us now? We need to warn you father," Queen Confection stayed level headed for the sake of her daughter. If she didn't remember what happened, it could only be a blessing in disguise.

Vanellope scratched her head, trying to remember what her father looked like, but an image wouldn't come to her mind. She shrugged. "_Maybe it will come to me like it did with mom,_" she deduced. "We've got a troll to find."

* * *

(**A/N:** Plot twist! Dun-dun-dun! So Vanellope has parents. Who would have guessed it? In the next chapter we'll be finding King Candy, and her dad! Also, just so no one will ask, a Sandtrap is a monster I made up to be in the original _Hero's Duty_ game. They're alien sand-bugs that can control the sand and make them into sand traps to capture prey. It's very hard to get out of the pits that they make, and a character's code can get scrambled really badly if he/she is injected with its neurotoxins if left untreated. There's a lot of songs named My Mother's Eyes, but the one being referenced is by Francis Valli; well I like Bette Midler's My Mother's Eyes, but it's not as close to what I'm going for in this chapter. One more thing: When I was writing Queen Confections, I could only think of her sounding like Fran Drescher. XD)


	6. Daddy's Girl

**Disclaimer:** "Wreck-It Ralph" and all characters related to the movie belong to The Walt Disney Company, and/or their respective gaming companies. Wreck-It Ralph was created by Rich Moore, Phil Johnston, and Jim Reardon. Level Up! and any characters not associated in their own respective franchise belong to Berserkeroo. All rights reserved.

* * *

Metal plated shoes tromped over the hard sugar floors of the Sugar Rush castle. The advancing party was on guard. Vanellope was situated onto Ralph's shoulders — her mother noticed that she seemed a little more at ease once she was settled on the wrecker's shoulders; Sgt. Calhoun constantly glanced around with her gun cocked; Roxas was positioned low to the ground with his whip leisurely swaying to and fro. The first place that they decided to check was the Code Room.

The oreo guards were at attention. The commander noticed the group, but didn't acknowledge them until the president stepped forward. "At ease boys," she said. "**Squadron, parade rest!**" the commander oreo ordered. The small squadron simultaneously places their hands at the smalls of their creamy backs while parting their legs in a more slacken yet alert position; they kept their heads and eyes in the position of attention. "I need access into the Code Room Commander Batter."

Commander Batter obliged her with a salute. "**Call column left! Column left,**" he shouted. "**Stand fast!**" his underlings shouted in response. "**Forward march!**" The small group marched off in unison before making their new posts a few feet from the door. "**Platoon halt!**" Sgt. Calhoun gave silent applause at the discipline of the guards. "I'm impressed kid."

Vanellope tied a rope around her waist. She gave it a few test tugs before deeming it safe. "I'm going in to see if any of the coding has been changed since my last time in here. If it has, then I'll have to fix it before it can take effect," she stated before opening the door. "Be careful Vanellope," her mother said. The teen flashes her mother a brief smile before entering.

The atramentous room flashed to life almost as if to acknowledge that one of the rightful heirs to the throne has entered the room. On the walls, blue rounded boxes processed various matrixes of code. One after another the code boxes illuminated as the girl neared. She tapped into random space while the multitude of codes passed over her eyes.

On the outside of the Code Room, everyone was doing a fine job of hiding any doubt that might plague their minds. Ralph seemed the least on edge, which surprised his counterpart. "You aren't nervous that she might find something? What if he wipes everyone's memory and everyone is mean to her again?" To everyone's shock, Felix was being rather pessimistic. The 8-bit villain glanced down at his smaller chum. "Then if that's the case so be it. She'll have something that she didn't have all those years ago; us. If we can stop him once, we can do it again."

Queen Confection now held the villain in high regards. It warmed her heart that her daughter had such devoted and loyal companions that could protect her, even if she couldn't. She felt a tug from the line cast out into the virtual room. Slowly, she pulled the rope until her daughter was out. The younger dusted her clothes off before coming to acknowledge her friends. "Well?" they asked.

"I've checked, double checked, and double checked my double check. He hasn't been here, at least not yet anyways. This might work well in our favor and we can get rid of him before he can do any damage," Vanellope said as she unfastened the rope from around her waist. A small green dot was bolting down the hallway. "Is that Sour Bill?" the queen of Sugar Rush asked.

The sour hard candy stopped once he was in front of the royals. He held his knees as he was trying to catch his breath. "I saw... I saw him in the throne room... Thought you'd want to know." The advisor plopped onto the floor for a moment of rest.

The group prowled around the halls until they found the large salmon colored doors with the emblem of Sugar Rush at its center. Ralph held his large hands up as he charged at the door. A juggernaut of sugar shrouded the groups' entrance to the room. Before long, he bombarded over to the silhouette hidden in the midst of the sugary clouds. The so-called king of Sugar Rush wheezes for air as he struggles under the brute strength of the gargantuan man. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't break you."

The others soon rushed into the room as Ralph held the taller version of King Candy in his grip. Queen Confection's voice hitched in her throat as she took in that her daughter's friend was crushing her husband. "Vanny tell your friend to let your father go! I thought we were after Turbo?" she gasped. "**Father?!**" everyone gawked. "Bones breaking. Not breathing. Please let me go young man..." King Candy whimpered from the clutches of the wrecker.

"I don't believe you!" Vanellope snapped at her mother. _Was she lying about even being her mother? Was this all an elaborate plan that Turbo came up with? Did she miss something in the Code Room?!_ "Vanellope von Schweetz!" She flinches at the bite in her mother's scolding. _That was her mother alright._

"But mom, he's Turbo! We all saw Candy turn into Turbo and try to destroy Sugar Rush!" she defended. "Me, Turbo? Destroy Sugar Rush? I would never destroy my own game and I'm certainly not that traitor. I wouldn't do something that would leave my subjects and family without a home. Why would you think that Vanny? I'm you daddy. I love you," King Candy looked hurt that his own child thought so lowly of him. There must be something that he couldn't remember that would make him seem so terrifying in his child's eyes. "Liar!" she shouted with conviction.

Everyone flinched at the volume and clear discomfort that radiated off of the princess. "I'll prove it anyway I can. I just don't want my little girl to fear me."

Vanellope started to glitch uncontrollably as she went into another fit of flashbacks. She thought she could hear him call out to her, but she was long gone.

_Vanellope was in her younger form and was in her play attire. She was in the throne room with her father during this time. He looked gravely concerned, as his eyes never left the grand doorway. Sour Bill raced into the room with a more stoic face, if that were possible. The princess acknowledged the advisor before going back to her drawing; it was a picture of her family about to embark on the trip to the kart factory. "Right after closing time tomorrow," she thought with excitement._

_King Candy dispatched from the white kart to talk to his advisor away from his daughter. "Daddy where are you going?" she asked with a quirked eyebrow; so much like her mother. "I just need to talk to Sour Bill sweetie. I'll be back in a moment. You can have some of the candy near the throne as long as you're behave yourself," he said as he was opened a hidden door. "Okay," the princess trudged over to the throne, to her dad's favorite stash of candy. "Jackpot!"_

_She pops one of the candies into her mouth as she put the finishing touches onto her doodle. King Candy closed the door behind himself. Being the ever-mischievous child that she as, she plopped next to the door to eavesdrop on the conversation. "Have you found Coni yet? The arcade is going to open in a couple hours! I'm on the avatar screen today. How am I going to race when I'm about to have an anxiety attack over here!" Sour Bill shook his head with a saddened expression. "No your majesty. We've searched everywhere. We've had the police, the guards, and even all of the racers try to search for her."_

_"Mommy's missing?" Vanellope thought as she pressed her ear closer to the wall. "The only person who's seen her last was Turbo sire. We can't find him either... I told you something was shady about that guy the second you decided to let him stay in the game," the hard candy stated as if he were about to say 'I told you so'. "Then I'm going to give the Code Room a try. Maybe I can reconfigure some of the latitude-longitude settings and pinpoint her coding position," he suggested. "That sounds brilliant your highness."_

_Vanellope scampered away from the door and back into the center of the room before the two men could return. Her father was walking towards the main door with his advisor in tow. He turned around to address her. "Honeybunch, why don't you play in your room for a while? Daddy has business to attend to." She looked at him as though she wanted to protest, but after hearing that her mother was missing she wanted to do her part in finding her; even if it meant behaving for once in her life._

_She held the jar of sweets as she walked up to her room. Her small hand pushes the door open before entering the room. Slowly, she places the jar to the ground before looking for a toy to play with to pass the time. Before she could come to grips with a toy, she hears the sound of footsteps from outside her door. "Hello?"_

_King Candy entered the room, which settled the rattled child. She sighed in relief. "Phew. Daddy, you scared me for a minute," she said with a smile. He didn't answer her. "Uh, hello? Sugar Rush to daddy-o. Are you in there," Vanellope teased as she neared the man. The monarch gave her a weird variation of his usual smile. "Are you okay?" she slowly backed away._

_"I'm Turbo-tastic, but you surely won't be," the man vowed. Vanellope ran out of the door and down the hall. Her small feet carried her as fast as they could go. "Dad's joke isn't funny. He's... He's acting scary," she thought as she took a moment to glance back. No one was there._

_A low throbbing noise pulsates across the sugar-saturated air. A magenta colored sphere started to engulf everything around her. The sounds of the oreo guards silently assured her of some safety, though she didn't know why. A manic voice sounded from behind her. "Guards! Seize her! This intruder has snuck into the castle!" he ordered._

_The oreo guards saluted in confirmation. Vanellope starts to hyperventilate as the guards began to close in on her. Her resolution distorted until she was now on the outside of the enclosed cookies. She ran away as fast as she could until she was finally out of the castle. Just as she thought she was safe, she ran into someone._

_"Watch where you're going!" a girl with platinum blonde hair shouted. Vanellope glitched a little while she began to sniffle. "Ew, what the heck are you doing? Are... Are you glitching?" The brunette haphazardly hurried to her feet before running off again. Not long after she glitched complete, taking her to the outskirts of Diet Cola Mountain._

Vanellope snapped back to the present with a flushed face. This one took a bit longer to come back from. She staggered back until she fell onto her rear. "You.. you.. And then you... You sent guards after me!" she finally spat out with conviction. "He did what?" Queen Confection shouted in disbelief. "I would never do that!"

"Then why were you loving to me one second then hateful another?" She hid — well she tried to — behind Sgt. Calhoun's right leg.

King Candy paused as he tried to recall the last things that he did before being regenerated after the upgrade. It was all shrouded; there was unease, talking, a bit of a haze, more talking, the Code Room, more haze, a scream, and then darkness. He hung his head. "I... can't remember Vanny. I'm really trying, but I can't remember anything," he paused before something slowly rose to the surface. "Coni was gone. Sour Bill and I were heading to the Code Room to try to find Coni's coordinates. I was about to enter the room until I heard Sour Bill scream. He was unconscious on the floor. Turbo was there and pointed this weird gun at me. When it shocked me I blacked out. I could hear muffled yelling, but that was about it after that. Not long after I couldn't see or hear anything anymore, but I knew something was happening. What happened while I was away?"

Vanellope slowly stood to her feet and began to walk over to the man who was still in the hesitant wrecker's large hands. "Aside from sending guards after me; you forbade me from racing, turned everyone against me, left me on the streets to live like a homeless old lady, my first and second karts were destroyed," Ralph winced as she continued, "... and I almost got eaten by a bunch of cyber-robotic, extraterrestrial coleopterans!"

King Candy's face dropped, his face flushed as though he was going to be sick. His wife decided now would be a good time to save his hide. Queen Confection dragged her daughter off to the side. "Mother-daughter talk. Be back in a second," she announced to everyone before taking her out of the room. Vanellope looked up to her mother with confusion. "Vanny, I know after all that you've been through with Turbo that it would be hard to trust your father since Turbo must have hacked his code," Vanellope intervened. "Hacked his code?"

"If a character is smart enough, they can learn to hack into other games systems. I'm sure someone with a high IQ like Eggman, Tails, or Q*bert could do it if they wanted to. That's the only way I can see how Turbo and your father could have either shared a body or the same image configuration. Your father loves you very much, and I'm sure deep down that you know he does. If you could remember the look on his face when you made a mess of the entire kitchen to make him that Father's Day cake; it was so priceless," the queen chuckled a bit at the memory. "Yeah, he couldn't stay mad to save his hide. His face was worse than Felix when he gets _the honey glows_ as he calls it," she joined in with the laughter.

Vanellope gawked at her acknowledgement. She shoved her hands into her hoodie's pockets with a defiant look in the opposite direction. A warm hand pressed onto her shoulder. "Turbo already drove a wedge between our family. Don't let it stay there otherwise he'll still have power over you." The younger brunette held her defiance, but it slowly began to chip away. "Fine. He gets one chance."

"I'm sure your dad would love that. We've got so much to catch up on. Our little girl has blossomed into a teenager after all."

Back inside the throne room there was an awkward silence between everyone in the room. Felix was distracting himself by fixing the damages that his burly friend caused just moments ago. Ralph still refused to let go of the _king_ despite his claims. King Candy cast a glance at the man. "I can't really say I blame you for wanting to break my bones. It kind of makes me grateful in a way; that my little girl has a friend like you who will protect her," he said with appreciation. The auburn haired man huffed. "_Yeah whatever._"

Before the tension could crush anyone, the two females returned into the room. Vanellope blew a stray lock from the center of her face. "We've come to an agreement. I'm going to give dad one chance. If I have any reason to get suspicious, I get to throw you into the Fungeon." King Candy beamed at the opportunity that he was given to make things up to his daughter, though he knew none of it was his fault to begin with. "I promise that you won't regret it kidd-o."

* * *

Whipney rolled down the street with the remaining stray citizens coming to the large gathering in front of the castle. She gave a thumbs up to the ambassador of Zero G! The president appeared from behind a veiled archway. Jovial horns played as she walked forward in her princess attire. The citizens glanced up in suspicion; this must have been serious. She cleared her throat, which silenced any talkers amongst the crowd. "Citizens of Sugar Rush, I thought that I was the sole ruler of the entire game, but I was wrong. The Code Room could use some looking over to fix these problems, but I'll work on that after closing hours. Surprise, surprise, I have parents. So let me reintroduce you to my mom and _dad_; Queen Confection and King Candy!" The horns died as most of the instruments hit the floor.

The crowd gasped at the sight of the king. Everyone was in an uproar — wondering how he was alive. "Hey, hey, hey! Settle down! I said our Code Room is kind of wacky at the moment so until I can get everything under control, no one — not even me — really remembers King Candy before Turbo. I'm willing to give him a chance so I expect you guys to do the same. Now if you don't mind, I have a meeting to go to."

Vanellope hopped into her car with Ralph in tow. "Are you sure about this?" he asked. "To be honest? No... But I made a promise to my mom to try, and if this King Candy really is my real dad, I want to try to get to know him — both of them." The loudness of her car's engine blared into his eardrums. "I just don't want you to get hurt; _be it physically or emotionally_," he whispered the latter. She stood on her seat's cushion so she could at least be up to his torso. "Thanks." She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek.

Ralph's eyes bulged out in the surprisingly different display of affection. Before either of them could say anything she returned to her seat and sped off until she was nothing more than a speck travelling down the road.

* * *

(**A/N:** I am such a bad student. I can write six chapter of a story in the course of about a week that are roughly 5 to 10 pages a piece, yet I can't sit down to write a five page paper, double spaced, on Vincent van Gogh. XD Well it's halfway done, but I really don't want to write on _The Starry Night_. Now enough about my college life. Someone in the reviews already guessed, though it probably wasn't that hard of a guess if I think about it, what I planned to do this chapter. For those who weren't in ROTC or a military child, I'll explain a few of the commands given. Some you may know, but better safe then sorry.

**At ease:** is similar to parade rest, only a bit more relaxed. You are not required to be vigilant.  
**Parade rest:** It's a call for the squadron or platoon to relax, however they are still required to be alert. The squad parts their legs about 8-10 inches apart and their legs aren't locked. The hands are cupped into position in the smalls of the back.  
**Call column left: **It's a command that is issued to address that the squadron is about to take action; in this case column left.  
**Column left:** Column left is making a sharp 90 degrees turn to the left. Same can be said with "column right" in which you go right instead.  
**Stand fast:** It's an acknowledgement to the commanding officer, but in this case, they weren't given permission to abandon post. So they shout it to state that they will not abandon the task at hand; meaning abandoning guarding the Code Room.  
**Forward march:** Pretty self exclamatory here. March forward. There are variations which can be said afterward to change the speed of the march, but it's not used here.**  
****Platoon halt:** Again, self exclamatory; to stop.

Now on with the news. My paper is due Wednesday and I have an exam this week so I won't be posting until after then. I have a few ideas on how I want to write the next couple of chapters, and they're going to be schweet! Okay, bad pun... I'm going to shut up now and get on with my paper and studying...)


	7. Shut Up and Drive

**Disclaimer:** "Wreck-It Ralph" and all characters related to the movie belong to The Walt Disney Company, and/or their respective gaming companies. Wreck-It Ralph was created by Rich Moore, Phil Johnston, and Jim Reardon. Level Up! and any characters not associated in their own respective franchise belong to Berserkeroo. All rights reserved.

* * *

Vanellope drove down the road to make her meeting, which thanks to the unexpected kingdom gathering, had caused a rearrangement of events; meeting first, Grand Random Roster Race afterwards. The members of the Sugar Rush Congress hurry into the_ SR Capitol_ to get the meeting underway. There was an awkward silence between the president and the members of Congress. She let out a sigh before taking her seat.

One of the members — made of powdered donuts — cleared his throat. "We would usually never require your assistance with the formation of a committee, but since this is one that would be connected to the executive branch, we figured we should get your consent before coming to a decision." The president rolls her wrist around, issuing him to continue so she could get to the Grand Random Roster Race. "I think that we need a committee for the military defense of Sugar Rush."

"Military? Why the heck would we need a military? I understand I'm the Commander in Chief, but what purpose do we have for one? I pushed back the _GRRR_ for this?! Is there something that you really need from me or can I go," she asked as she stood from her seat. "But President Von Schweetz this is a serious matter. The people have been on a security plight since the upgrade. We need this! Our game was taken over by a deranged rouge! We were tricked for seven years into thinking that things were fine and now with King Candy-" he was intercepted by the president. "King Candy is not a threat!" she shouted. "_At least not a threat for the time being._" Vanellope crosses her legs from her large chair at the heart of the room. "Look. We aren't here to talk about my father; we're here to talk about the new committee. Now if you guys have nothing worthy of my time I'm leaving for the race."

A few stray voices roam across the room before addressing their leader. "I'm willing to believe for now that the king isn't a threat, but what if there comes a day that the arcade is under another threat? Who will defend Sugar Rush? Your friends can't juggle saving their games and ours," a gummy bear congresswoman stated. Vanellope muttered something indignantly. "I'll talk to my parents, advisor, and ambassadors after the closing time tomorrow, okay? If they think we need something like a military I'll give my approval and you can do as you please with the committee members and the alike. Caucus adjourned."

Vanellope closes the door to her car before starting her engine. "_What's wrong them?! They act like I can't handle things now that my parents are back, and now they're calling up for arms? Just freaking great..._" She sped through Sugar Rush until the starting line came into view — everyone was waiting for her. After giving her simple speech, Sour Bill went to his post to turn on the signal. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw her parents in their respective vehicles; her dad in the white throne-car and her mom in a creamier version. "What are you guys doing on the track?" she asked in confusion. "You didn't think that we wouldn't get back in the saddle now did you kiddo?" Candy said with a smirk. "Someone's got to give this race some actual competition," Confection added.

Vanellope stared at them. She could tell from the look in their eyes that this was more than for the simple avatar selection. She mischievously returned the smirk; so much like her parents. "_I don't know what their game is, but this might be what might settle a few people down_," she thought. _Red._ "Is that I challenge I hear?" _Yellow._ "It's not a challenge, it's a fact!" _Yellow._ "Then let the best avatar win." _Green!_ The different vehicle engines filled the entire game until they were nothing more than a faint roar in the distance. Most eyes seemed to focus on the driving portion of the Grand Random Roster Race.

The zealous and ruthless competition going on between the royal family confirmed one thing to the other drivers on the road; _don't interfere with that race_! Most were too scared to even try — mainly because of the blaze roaring in the young president. Vanellope weaved through the jawbreakers that rolled down the valleys, her eyes burning into the back of her parents' cars. She pressed a button to unleash three heat seeking cinnamon candies.

Confection glances over her shoulder at the oncoming candies. "Looks like Vanny got the message dear," she commented with a knowing nod. "Then let's see what our baby girl's got!" he agreed as he pulled on a lever on the floor of his car. The white car lifted onto its hydraulics system at a cartoonish height. One of the missiles went between his car's _legs_. Confection gives Vanellope a smirk — similar to the one that her daughter gave Turbo when she raced him a year ago — and swerved between the jawbreakers; her precise timing and movements misleads the cinnamon candy into destroying the jawbreakers.

While the monarchical couples set their cars back into their normal modes, their daughter was driving alongside them on the walls of the valley. "Nice try Vanny, but you'll have to try better than that," her father commented as he drove through the remainder of the valley and into the new terrain; the sugary beach.

Ralph, Felix, and Calhoun were watching on the large screen as the race went on. Ralph seemed a little distraction, which didn't go unnoticed by the experienced marine. Calhoun glanced over her shoulder as one of the bikers came tumbling off of his bike. "_Is he sick or something?_" She decided not to pry and support her spunky friend on the track. On the screen Vanellope was now in second with her mother in the lead and her father right on her bumper. "_I need to win this, especially without using my glitch! I can't afford to lose this race..._" She groaned when she noticed that her mother gained possession of a cherry drop candy.

The power-up coated the cream colored car, instantly giving the vehicle a speed boost. "_And now there's a gap..._" Vanellope skidded across the beach until she neared the curve that bordered the sugary sand and soda ocean; four riders sailed right above head from the upcoming cove — each doing a few tricks from the top hollow of the coves to get back to the aquatic portion of their respective race. She continues to drift — hoping to perform the new unlockable feature. An announcer's voice echoed across the race. "_Sugar Bonus Rush: Sonic Drift!_" Her cart was coated white before she used her Sugar Rush — a rockstar candy.

The trio goes through the entrance to the cove as the remaining riders exit from the upper hollows and onto the crest of an oncoming wave. The multicolor coating her car shimmers across the rock candy stalagmites and stalactites. One of the beams reflects from one of the rock candy stalagmites and flashes into Confection's eyes. The sound of screeching tires reverberates off the caves until a loud crash silences the pandamonium. The rockstar candy left Vanellope unharmed, but her mother on the other hand was taken out of the race. She bit her lip as she saw her mother devirtualize before the falling stalactite could fall onto her.

"_Confection von Schweetz: Out!_" the announcer shouted. The scoreboard displayed that she ranked fifth with the remaining characters in their current places: Vanellope and Candy fighting for first, Swizzle in third, and Taffyta in fourth. The queen smacked her fist in her palm at her bad rank. "_But at least I'm up for selection tomorrow_," she thought optimistically. Not five seconds afterwards Swizzle staggers from his materialization on the sidelines. "_Taffyta, you cheating harpy!_" he mentally cursed.

The two carts were neck and neck against each other. Daughter and father in a fierce competition. Vanellope clearly wanted to best her father, not a power-hungry impersonator; meanwhile Candy wanted to watch the growth of his daughter's driving skills up close as well as test her to her limits. "_Her time might be coming sooner than I thought,_" he pondered. Candy was a little proud of his daughter's developing leadership skills, but he knew that he couldn't just let her win unless she did it on her own. "_It may not be the best political move if she loses, but she is still the heir to the throne and she needs to prove it._"

The race was winding down with the last quarter. Zero G! was already done with their portion of their race with the last of the Riders installment coming to a close. All eyes were on the two main competitors. Taffyta was not far behind the father-daughter duo, but stayed a decent distance from the action. She knew a serious race when one was right in front of her. The final row of Sugar Rushes came into view. _This could be what makes or breaks the race._ Both of them collected their power-ups.

Most of the spectators were on edge — some even standing from their seats as they drivers entered the Candy Cane Forest. "_Come on, come on, come on..._" Vanellope was elated that she gained a lemon drop boost, which helped her significantly gain the lead. Out of her rearview mirror she saw a large ice cream cone locking onto her position. "_I could glitch out of the way and win or I could let it hit me and lose. Whoa-boy..._" Adrenaline raced through her as she tried to keep her glitch under control. She eyes the candy trees and decides to take a scenic route. "What is that girl doing?" Candy muttered.

Vanellope was driving alongside the track on the swirling red and white tree branches. Since she wasn't on the course her rank dropped from first to third. The finish line was now in sight; a few feet from the outskirt of the forest. "_I know that one of you are up here, now where are you,_" she thought as she saw the finish line. To the left, she saw what she was looking for; a double stripe.

Her car was on a course to run right over the branch. The branch naturally snapped off and began to disintegrate. Candy saw a large shadow fly above his car. "_Sly little girl, however..._" He pressed the button to trigger his power-up. The cone was on a close collision course for Vanellope's car, until the remnants of the disintegrating double stripe bumped against the creamy treat; veering it slightly off course.

Those who weren't already standing quickly did so as their president crosses the finish line. The cheers were deafening. "_And I thought Ralph's breath was the only thing that could make my ears go numb,_" she thought as she waved to her people. The other two cars cross the line not long after. She was praised by the citizens for her risky achievement. "It's no biggie guys. It's just a Grand Random Roster Race after all." Her hands shoved into her pockets as she brought the event to a close.

Vanellope walked into the castle with her parents in tow. She could feel their eyes upon her, but she didn't want to be the first to speak. "Congratulations on beating us sweetie, but..." Confection started off before her husband went into a rant. "That was too risky! What if you could have been hurt? What if you drove onto a double stripe while you were up there. You could have crashed!"

"But I didn't. I've been driving pretty well for the latest bloomer in Sugar Rush." The statement didn't hold any bite to it, but it still stung. "Regardless you were reckless. But that's not what we need to talk about."

"Then what do we need to talk about? I won so everyone knows that I'm capable of handling things with you guys around. What else could there be?" She glanced back at her parents. Candy shook his head slightly, but replied. "Don't worry about it. I'm pretty sure that this whole day has left us all a little tired so why don't you rest up." Vanellope stared at her parents before relenting. "Okay," she drawled out. After wishing them a good night's rest, she took the corridor that lead to her wing.

Confection looked over to her husband as he did likewise. They both knew what the other was thinking. "One of us is going to have to tell her," she started. "We'll surprise her with it in morning. She's only made the first step. It's best that we don't drag this thing out unless we want the kingdom back into a panic. It's better that she find out sooner than later."

* * *

A few gates away from Sugar Rush, Sgt. Calhoun was leaving the main characters of Fix-It Felix Jr. behind to return to her game. "See you later soldier," she smirked at her husband. Her hoverboard rumbles softly before sailing off in the direction of Hero's Duty. They waved her off before taking the train back into their game.

"Gee willikers brother this has been one doozy of a day! It feels good to be getting home for a bit of rest before opening," Felix says, hopping off the train. "Yeah..." Ralph said with as much of a neutral voice that he could muster. The protagonist glances back at his counterpart with a questioning look, but he decides not to pry. "G'night Ralph!"

"Night Felix. Send my regards to everyone in the apartment." Felix nodded to confirm that he would do so.

Ralph walks into his small home and plops on his bed. That's right he finally got a decent bed. It was incredibly firm — as to bear similarity to the bricks he slept on for thirty years — with a pillow and a couple of patched together sheets. He turned onto his side as he thought about Vanellope's unexpected form of affection. "_I'm probably thinking too hard... She's had a stressful day and I helped remedy that. Yup, that's all there is to it,_" he concluded before throwing the sheets on his body.

* * *

(**A/N:** So I'm free from essay writing so I can write as much as I can for now. I still have tests, exams, and a few more projects for the remainder of the semester, but I can at least write. I'm doing a bit of character development between the main pairing and other characters so be patient. Their time will come. **In the next chapter:** we get to learn a bit about Sugar Rushian history and Ralph gives advice to a friend who in turn might give him a little advise of his own.)


	8. Little Queen

**Disclaimer:** "Wreck-It Ralph" and all characters related to the movie belong to The Walt Disney Company, and/or their respective gaming companies. Wreck-It Ralph was created by Rich Moore, Phil Johnston, and Jim Reardon. Level Up! and any characters not associated in their own respective franchise belong to Berserkeroo. All rights reserved.

* * *

Sugar Rush slowly varnishes with the rays of the sun; a warm magenta light embellishes the entire kingdom. Some of the early birds gasp as memories flood back into their coding. Meanwhile, Vanellope rouses around her large bed. Her hazel eyes snap wide open as her father slowly becomes more familiar. She pulls the covers off of her as she regains composure over her breathing. "_King Candy really is my dad, but why didn't the memories come back until now?_" she thought. The cogs leisurely turn as she remembers the something distinct. "_He crossed the finish line! Then that means..._"

Vanellope giggles with excitement. "My parents are really my parents," she fist pumps the air, "But mom didn't cross it yet... _We'll just have to fix that later,_" she mutters the latter. Her eyes come across her bedside clock that read 10 o'clock. "Ten o'clock! Oh gingersnaps! I'm going to kill Sour Bill!" She sprinted across her room to get prepared for the day. She beat her previous record of how fast she could get ready.

The young president ran into the dining hall to grab anything that would suit her as breakfast; French toast. She nibbled on the toast as she pulled on her boots. "Calm down Vanellope, you'll choke," she could hear her mother warn. "But I've got to inform Roxas and Everlyn about meeting them after closing. Speaking of which you two should attend too." Her father's chuckling caught her off guard.

"Calm down before you hurt yourself. We told Sour Bill to let you sleep in," Candy told her. "You what?" she exclaimed. "Sit down. We need to talk."

"About?"

Candy looked at his wife before addressing his daughter. "You keeping the throne. The thing is... you can't rule over Sugar Rush until you fulfill a family tradition that's gone back for many generations," he stated. "What?!"

"We can't just break tradition. It's in our code. I'm sure the people wouldn't mind us taking over since their memories should have been restored by now. We don't mind including you in decisions, but tradition is tradition." He sipped the cola in his teacup. "What about the democracy? Another sudden shift in government might collapse our system. Heck the citizens might want to start a revolution!"

"We're already a step ahead of you. We have no intention on changing the democracy back into a monarchy. We're perfectly capable of adjusting to the task, but you'll still have less responsibilities until you succeed me and become _queen_," Confection interjects into the conversation. "And just what are these procedures?"

"You've already taken the first step by besting the both of us in an official race so that takes care of one portion. Since you have no siblings we don't have to worry about the competition for the throne," Candy ticked off the items from memory. "Let's see... There's also has to be a unanimous vouch for your leadership skills. I'm sure if we asked around, the people would vouch for you. I guess all that's left now is getting the council together to forge an abdication decree and picking yourself a new advisor; Sour Bill was our advisor. It's time you got your own," he finishes as he swishes his drink about leisurely.

Confection tsked at her husband's negligence. "You forgot one dear," she added. "I didn't forget, I just don't want her to," he quickly added in with a hmph. "Someone mind explaining what I'm missing?" Vanellope interrupted. King Candy folded his arms from his seat and remained silent. "You have to be courted in order to find your king," her mother added.

Vanellope's eyes were so huge that her parents thought that they might pop right out of her head. "I have to do what now?" she almost yelled. "Why would I need a king when I'll be running a democracy?" she continued. "It's Sugar Rush's programed monarchical succession policy; dated all the way back to the first king, King Lucas I. You can change it when you're queen whenever you want, but since we'll be the last king and queen of Sugar Rush, we might as well do it right."

"Well this blows hot donkey's breath..." she grumbles. "_Who the heck would I pick? I don't like anyone and I sure as heck ain't letting mom and dad arrange a marriage for me either..._" She starts to bang her head against the table. "Don't bang your head against the table sweetie, you're on the avatar screen today. Now eat your breakfast," her mother lectured.

"Yes ma'am..." She shovels her breakfast into her mouth, notably disgusting her parents. "_We've got some work to do..._" they unknowingly agreed.

* * *

The day went by at a remarkably slow pace. No one could really understand why the mid weekdays were rather slow, but it meant an easier shift. The _all clear_ was given a while ago and most of the inhabitants of Fix-It Felix Jr. were already gone. Usually Ralph would go visit his partner in crime in Sugar Rush, but today he had other plans. It was the day that he would go to Bad-Anon. He felt a little prideful with his newfound lifestyle and took it upon himself to share his success in order to aid other villains along with Clyde.

Coily joined the group not that long ago because of Ralph's insistence and decided meet him inside the office. Loud roars that could only belong to the Koopa king himself echoes from within the _ghost box_. "I wonder what's got his shell in a bunch," he muttered. Just as he opens the door to the room, a jet or fire barely misses his head; but it left a few strands of hair singed. In the corner, Zangief was nursing a conflicted wrist. Clyde on the other hand was trying to calm down the raging koopa.

Zangief noticed that his drinking buddy had walked into the room. "Zangief tries to help calm him down. Bowser breaks wrist! No is fun. Have to go to Dr. Mario after meeting..." The name seemed to make the king go into another rage. Some of the smaller villains, including Coily, were hiding behind some of the chairs or in a corner.

Ralph cracked his massive knuckles and shifted to his younger state. This was going to be a tough one. "_I'm three minutes late and Bowser's on a rampage._" Sighing, he limbers up to take on the monarchial villain. Luckily for Ralph, he managed to grab the tortoise-like king by the tail and slam him into a nearby wall. The dazed villain was soon put into a chokehold. "Let me go! Let me go! I'm gonna kill that fucking plumber. Him and everyone in that damned kingdom!"

Ralph cocks his head to the side in confusion, but refuses to relinquish his grip. "How about we start from the top. What exactly happened?" Clyde finally managed to ask. Bowser snorts smoke from his nostrils, but eventually gave up on trying to break free and decides to share:

_Just after closing, Bowser rematerializes after being thrown into lava for the six time that day. He shakes off any remaining resin from the scalding hot semifluid. His son Bowser Jr. runs up to him with a fanged grin. "Dad, momma Peach and the others are throwing a party tonight!" he exclaimed with excitement. Bowser scratches his head in confusion. He didn't know that a party was being thrown today, but he shrugged it off. "Well we'll just have to go now won't we? She'll probably want someone tall to help out."_

_The father and son walk from their sinister castle to the much vivacious looking Mushroom Kingdom. In their passing, a few of the denizens stare at the pair, but say nothing; after all it was nothing new that Bowser would come into the kingdom. The Koopa king knocks on the door._

_One of the Toads answers the door. "How may I..." his expression dropped at the sight of the antagonist. "One second," he replies before closing the door. The Toad runs over to the clearly busy princesses; Peach and Daisy. "Bowser's here..." he states without looking at either of them. Most of the main characters went silent, while a few others smacked their foreheads in embarrassment; someone forgot to invite Bowser. This was definitely going to be awkward. Not many of the protagonists had an issue with Bowser, well at least not anymore after what Wreck-It Ralph proved, but some of the Mushroom Kingdom subjects in attendance still did. "Well let him in."_

_Right outside of the castle, Bowser Jr. glances up at his father — he looked a little agitated. "Dad, why do we always have to wait outside before we can come in to see momma Peach?" he finally asked. Bowser grew stiff. He never really wanted to have this talk with his son, especially about some of the hardships that he might have to face for the rest of his life. "Well son..." The door opened before he could get into the subject._

_The pair walked into the castle with a few pairs of eyes on them. In the background the game's anti-heroes tipped their hats to the villain in welcome before they returned to their tasks assigned by the princesses. Peach gives him a peck on his muzzle before returning to instructing a few other duties. Waluigi and Luigi were going back and forth about the positioning of one of the banners. "It looks better higher up!" Waluigi argued. "Then I can't reach it to help, so it goes lower!" Luigi barked back._

_Bowser steps up next to the feuding pair. "Why don't I take this one? Waluigi isn't that much shorter than I am so it can go higher," he offered. Luigi simply flung the banner in the air. "Whatever..." he mumbles with an 'I give up' attitude. He walks over to Daisy who assigns him to go run over to Sugar Rush to ask it they could buy some of their sweets. "So where do you think it would go?" the king asks. On the opposite side of the room, a few of the Toads were conversing with one another._

_Distinctly, Bowser could hear something about why was he bothered showing up. Waluigi could faintly make out the sounds as well, but gave him a look of some form of sympathy. The two ignored it and finished with the placement of a few banners. Bowser Jr. tromps about next to Peach with a few slices of cake and drinks in hand for all the hard workers. Mario starts to walk over to pair until Bowser Jr's foot catches a snag in the royal red carpet._

_The lemonade and cake flies over to the unexpecting plumber and coats him with the soggy cake mixture. "Oops. Sorry Mr. Mario," the young koopa mumbles as he thought that he would get in trouble. "Is alright. Is only a small stain... I can change before the party, yeah?" he said in his usually thick Italian accent. Bowser Jr. was quite relieved that the hero wasn't mad with him off the clock. "Clumsy freaking kid..." muttered someone in the background. Everyone looked around to see who made the outburst, but no one could be found. "Who said that!" Bowser snorted a jet of smoke. No one spoke up, because no one knew who did it. He felt a familiar reassuring hand on his arm, which seemed to calm him down a bit._

_Peach turned to Mario, who was picking cake particles out of his hair. "Come on, I have some of your spare clothes upstairs," she ushers him up the stairs to the guest rooms. "Lets get this mess cleaned up," Daisy said before running into a closet to get some cleaning products. Bowser Jr. gladly took the job since it was his fault._

_Bowser was having a decent conversation with Luigi once he returns, which struck him as odd. "Why are they taking so long?" he thought to himself. He tromps over to the stairs. "Where are you going?" Luigi asks in a helpful tone. "Just going to see what's taking those two so long. Peach is supposed to be baking the cake isn't she?" The others nod to confirm it._

_The king of the Koopas walks up the evergoing stairs until he comes across the guest wing. He could hear the pair talking from one of the rooms. His eyes went ablaze once he saw that she was in the room with his half naked "rival". A loud roar shakes the entire castle. Bowser didn't waste anytime trying to hear her calling out to him. He was soon out of the castle and out of the game._

"... and now I came here because I didn't have anywhere to turn to," Bowser concluded. He could slowly feel the wrecker let him go. He rolls his shoulders a bit to get the circulation flowing again.

Clyde looks at Ralph with keen interest. "I'll let you handle this one Ralph," he states. "Me? What for?" Ralph asks with a perplex expression. "You seem like the one who is more _equipped_ to handle Bowser's circumstance," he added. That didn't help clear any of his confusion, but he decided to give it a whirl. "Well, uh... It seems that you might have some trust issues and maybe a bit of insecurities," he starts off; his eyes on Clyde. The ghost villain nods for him to continue. "And I think that maybe you jumped the gun a little. I think that she might have just been trying to give him some new clothes is all."

Bowser huffs at the statement. "I think she's going to her default setting; that she prefers him over me. What if she decides to go _in another castle._" Ralph had to resist the urge to laugh at that statement. "Then why did I see her running around GCS before I came in. She was looking for you. You might have even hurt her feelings man. Take it from a wrecker. You might want to try to fix your mistake before its too late."

Bowser sighs, but concludes that his friend did have a point and that he might have to work a bit on his temper. "I guess I'll be leaving early today," he says before taking his leave out of the _ghost box_. Ralph let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "That was very good Ralph. I knew you were the better choice," Clyde said from behind him. "I just said what I thought was the truth."

"Well you'd be surprised at how much you and Bowser have in common Ralph." Ralph's brain went back into confused mode. "_Maybe it's best not to even ask..._" he mentally concluded. "I think we can call this week's meeting to a close rather early. I don't want Zangief to hold off on his appointment."

Zangief nodded with mild appreciation before they started the Bad-Anon creed: "_I'm bad and that's good. I will never be good and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be than me,_" the all chorused.

* * *

Back in Sugar Rush, Vanellope lie conflicted with her succession procedure. She knew that there wasn't any getting around it, heck, she tried right after closing to hack the tradition into nonexistence, but she couldn't due to her no longer being the current ruler. A sigh escaped her. "_Great. I try not to be a princess and my coding smacks it back in my face!_" she mutters. "I need some advice on this, but who do I go to?" she pondered aloud.

Immediately she crosses her top three friends off of the list. Even with the game officially accepting her dad into the program again, she doubts that her friends would take the tradition very lightly. She snickers at the thought of Calhoun and Ralph threatening to bash her parents' brains in. _Can't be having any of that now can we?_ "I need an unbiased opinion. Roxas maybe? No, he'd probably be just as worse as Ralph, Felix, and Sarg." One racer, or _rider_ came into mind.

Vanellope walks outside with a platonic expression on her face. She clicks a button on her car keys. Whizzing from the royal garage, her car — the Cluster Buster as it's creators dubbed — was now in front of her. The girl hops into the car and heads for _Sprite Remix Shores_.

Just in sight, she could see that the riders were having a ball tearing into the crystal clear waves. Her eyes came across the leader of the bunch, Everlyn Gobberstein. The tanned girl shakes the suds out of her hair as she sticks her board into the sugary sand. Out of the corner of her eyes she could see the president. "Sup Miss. Prez," she greets.

"Hi Everlyn. I was hoping I could talk to you," Vanellope starts off. "About what?" she asks as she wrings out the remaining liquid in her hair. "Well I'm sure that all of you were integrated into the original programing to accept my dad as an official heir to the throne, right?" The surfer nods. "Well there turns out there's this lame tradition that I have to go through in order to become ruler again. The only thing is I don't like it."

"You gonna tell me or not?" Everlyn asks with confused look. "I have to be _courted_ in order to become ruler again." she finally admits. "Whoa, bummer. That's like so FUBAR bra," Vanellope quirks her brow at the odd language. This is going to take some getting use to. "It means_ fucked up beyond all reason_ yo. Seriously, king-daddy is on some major flail action big time, but I can understand tradition. Despite being new here, we do try to keep up with our programed traditions," Everlyn says before casting a glance over to the president. "If you're wondering what to, I'd say not to worry too much if king-daddy is a decent leader. Take some time to find some guy you'd totally fambo over. Maybe even come here for some relaxation and surf. I promise we have the most choice waves in all of Sugar Rush. Check ya later prez." The surfer rushes back into the ocean on her hoverboard, her colleagues acknowledging her return with a shout of enthusiasm.

Vanellope sighs at the opinion, but she did conclude that the surfer did have good advice, albeit worded a little oddly. She scans the horizon with a wondering look on her face. "_Maybe I could leave things to mom and dad for a while and enjoy a little vacation time. Maybe I'll bring a few friends along..._"

* * *

Ralph was enjoying his root beer in Tappers until Bowser enters the establishment. His attitude from earlier definitely took a turn for the better. The monarch sat next to his comrade and ordered himself a drink. "Alright, I'll be the first to admit that you were right. I reacted rather badly and I had a blast at the party earlier. Everyone else is still going at it, but I thought I could use a drink before returning." He guzzles down the drink with satisfaction. "Glad I can help. We've got to stick together buddy. We've still got a few strays with the _villains will always be evil_ thing."

"I hear ya bud. Swear I don't know how you do it with Ms. Hotwheels all the time. I may love Peach, but even I can admit that she's not hard on the eyes," Bowser says before ordering another drink. "What are you getting at Koopa? We're not an item," Ralph clarifies. "I didn't know. Everyone in the arcade was talking about it all week so I just assumed... Well this is awkward."

Ralph simply stares at his mug with an empty look in his eyes. He felt a clawed hand on his shoulder. "Just a warning for you Ralph: she's a nice girl and if some of the guys around here catch wind that she's single, there will be some fierce competition. When you see that your princess is in another castle, you'll regret it. I'm just saying." The eight-bit wrecker pays his tab and leaves the bar.

* * *

(**A/N:** I was having a conversation with one of my reviews and we talked about a few things. Some of which were integrated into the story. I never thought of naming Vanellope's car, but I thought _Cluster__ Buster_ worked well because it is a conglomerate of treats — and reminds me that Vanellope has a jubilee of candies littering her hair — and the _Buster_ portion of the name kind of give respect to Ralph. So do you guys like the nice little spin I've added this chapter? See ya next time.)


	9. Surfer Girl

**Disclaimer:** "Wreck-It Ralph" and all characters related to the movie belong to The Walt Disney Company, and/or their respective gaming companies. Wreck-It Ralph was created by Rich Moore, Phil Johnston, and Jim Reardon. Level Up! and any characters not associated in their own respective franchise belong to Berserkeroo. All rights reserved.

(**A/N:** Before you read, I abused the surfer lingo — mainly because I know it — so I'll be putting a translation at the bottom of the chapter. I'll be explaining a few other things at the bottom so that it may sate some of your questions before you ask. It's a lot of stuff I wanted to keep adding, and plenty that I took out, but I thought I might make a spin-off story after I'm done with _Level Up!_ so that you guys can get a feel of what's going on in the background.

Oh, and those who are curious about when the Jawbreaker fluff is coming; leave it up to me. I'm just trying to do some character development first. It'll come sooner than you think. So without further ado, here's the chapter.)

* * *

Ralph walks into his game with perplexity riddling his face. Why would rumors be going on about him and Vanellope? They were just friends the last time he checked. His eyes came across his friend Felix who seemed to be just coming in. He calls out to him. Felix waves at him in greeting before walking over to him. "What can I do for you Ralph?" he asked with his usual chipper tone.

"Did you know there were rumors going on about me and Vanellope?" Ralph didn't feel like beating around the bush on this. For the most part Felix remained quiet until he could put his thoughts into words. "Well..." he was cut off. "You knew didn't you? Aw, where did this come from?" he grumbles. "I don't really see the problem with it Ralph. She's grown to be a lovely young lady. You're already as close as people can get," the maintenance man scratches the back of his head.

Stifled mutters came from the eight-bit wrecker. "What if she hears about this? It's going to be so awkward between us when/if she does. What if she ends up hating me?" he asks. Felix looks at his counterpart with a quirk in his brow. "Are you serious? After all that you two have been through together, you think a little rumor would make her hate you? Try again brother because that's downright bonkers," he chuckles. "I'm not saying that things have to change between you two — you two can still be best friends — but come what come may," With that Felix walks away to rest up for the remainder of the workweek.

The _villain_ was left with his thoughts, which he thought wasn't a good idea. He walks to the brick pile to look at the shimmering stars that filled their game. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see the glass window that lead to the outside world. He could see Vanellope's image on the side of the console. It had been refurbished to acknowledge that it had been upgraded. At her left, Everlyn was casting a peace sign with her board in hand, and at her right, Roxas cast an arrogant smirk towards the onlooker with his whip in hand. Both of them weren't of his focus though because all he was focused on was Vanellope's teasing expression.

* * *

Vanellope's car passes the player's avatar — Taffyta Muttonfudge — with a smirk. The smile didn't last too long since both of them were taken out by a winged blueberry ice cream cast by Queen Confection who now took the lead. She crashes to the sidelines with a huff. A crew of candy citizens hefted the battered cars to continue racing. "_Mom it is so on!_" she vowed.

King Candy wasn't that far behind as she starts her car to continue racing. He tips his helmet off to his daughter before passing her. To be honest she couldn't say she wasn't enjoying racing her parents. They were bonding after all. She soon crosses the finish line; Queen Confection placed first, Taffyta second, King Candy third, and her in fourth. The other racers skid across the finish line. Since Vanellope wasn't on the top three podium she awarded the winners their respective trophies.

The game fades before playing the upbeat theme song of the original game. The player leaves the seat to head for his mother. The arcade grew dark as Mr. Litwak closed up for the night. A loud engine herald from the skies until the bikers made their landing. Their leader pulls his hair out of its ponytail after removing his helmet. After refreshing his hair he pulls it back into its default do. His eyes come across _the_ _princess, well president, whatever._ He shook his head before approaching her.

Taffyta turns her eyes on the oncoming male. She muffles a squeak that was trying to escape her. "What's gotten into you?" Vanellope asks with bemusement. "_It's the hottie from the new installment!_" she whispers with her platinum blond hair hiding her face. Vanellope sees that Roxas was a few feet from them now. "Madam president," he gives a mock curtsy. "Oh shut up. I actually wanted to talk to you anyways. Everlyn suggested that I check out the beach. I was thinking of inviting a few friends. Want to come with or are you busy?"

Roxas cast a clearly false thinking pose. "I don't know. I could be polishing my bike all weekend after all, but I think I can spare a few seconds," he chuckles. "Sorry. Couldn't hear ya over that big ego," she rolls her eyes. "So when do you plan on going?" he finally asks. "I was thinking maybe around tomorrow. The arcade is closed so we could have some real fun!"

"Alright sounds like a plan. I'll blow through some paperwork today so I can stay a little longer. Later your highness," Roxas teases before hopping on his bike. Taffyta pulls Vanellope by the shoulders. "Can I go? Please! Hook me up here!" she asks, though it sounded like a hybrid between begging and demanding. "Okay, okay. You can go just stop shaking me," her eyes went about in circles in a rather cartoony manner. "We'll be at the beach by 10 so don't be late." Taffyta squeals before hugging her. "This is going to be so awesome!"

Vanellope watches as the girl walks away with a skip in her step. "Better go invite the others before they try to make plans," she mutters. She jumps into her car as speeds down the road. Little did she know that someone was watching her as she went down that very road.

* * *

Ralph holds his nose and tries to push any remaining water out of his ears. He could see that the Nicelanders and Felix were transforming back to their original ages, but he didn't see the big rush. He shook his auburn hair before it stuck up like a porcupine. He heard a soft noise coming from the tunnels; it was Sgt. Calhoun.

Calhoun rode in on her hoverboard before gracefully dismounting. She walks over to her husband and gives him a kiss. Ralph resisted the urge to roll his eyes, lest he wishes for her to smack him so hard that they become stuck that way. He shuddered at the thought. His face scrunches up at the sound of another engine.

The car tears through the streets of Niceland before coming across the original portion of Fix-It Felix Jr. Its owner hits the brakes, making the car swerve to the side; a few burn marks trailed behind the tires. Vanellope gets out of her car and jumps on the opportunity to get Ralph while he wasn't focused.

Ralph staggers back a bit with the teen clinging to his neck; he didn't fall this time, but his back was crying bloody murder. Felix cast a glance at Ralph, but said nothing.

Vanellope eases her way back to the ground with a grin. She glances back to see Felix and Calhoun staring at them. "Oh Sarg is here. Good, I don't have to ask Felix to get you then," she chirped. "Are we going to do a little game-hopping today or what?" Tamora asked. It was her turn to pick where they'd go today. "Yeah, but I wanted to know if you guys wanted come to Sugar Rush tomorrow?" None of them had a problem going to Sugar Rush — well Sgt. Calhoun said the sugary air gave her hives every now and again, but nothing unbearable — but they were curious about the need to ask. "What ya have planned for us lil' missy?" Felix asked in his always chipper tone.

"I wanted to check out the new beach. We can probably play volleyball or go hoverboarding or something." It didn't take them much to come to a decision. "Sounds like a good time," the older woman said. "Cool! We can buy whatever we need from the shacks set up on the beach. Let's go around 10 AM," she punches the air with a twirl. The small group confirms their schedule before looking towards Tamora.

"Found another game. It's called _Tomb Raider_," she introduced. "Well that sounds like it won't kill us," Ralph chuckles. "_Ouch!_" He rubs his shoulder while glaring at the marine.

* * *

After a day of hardcore game-hopping, Vanellope returns to her game rather tired. "_Tammy sure knows how to pick games. Sheesh..._" She stretches her arms above her head. The Oreo guards salute her as she makes her way into her home. She contemplates on getting a snack, but decides against it.

Faint mutters could be heard from the throne room as she passes. Curious, she opens the door to see her parents rummaging through the final bits of paperwork. They glance up to see that their daughter. "Hello sweetheart. How was your day," Confection asks as she stamps a seal of approval on another bill. "Same old, same old. We went game-jumping and it was awesome!" They seemed amused at her cheeriness. "Glad that you're enjoying yourself. We saved a few of these documents so that you can get a vote," Candy says as he passes her a few papers.

Vanellope skims over the documents relatively quickly before coming to a decision. Her thoughts went to when she first met Ralph. She chuckles a bit. "I think that it's a good idea. We wouldn't want the bikers to run into a tree after all." Another seal of approval went over the documents. "Well that's enough for one day. Time for bed dearest," he offers his arm to his wife, which she took. "Night Vanny," he places a kiss on top of her crown before leaving.

An idea crossed her mind. "Hey, wait a second!" she called out.

* * *

Ralph, Felix, and Calhoun were waiting outside the gate of Sugar Rush. Ralph was carrying the grill, Felix carrying the meat, and Calhoun carrying the charcoal. The familiar sound of car tires came from down the tunnel. "_Finally. This stuff weighs more than a Cy-Bug..._"

Vanellope swerves next to her waiting friends. "Sorry for the wait guys. Had to take care of a little business first. Let's go!" she cheers. Ralph hops into the backseat of the car. That's right the upgrade made the cars bigger. He rests the grill in his lap. Calhoun and Felix were already on the hoverboard; the charcoal and meat were strapped to the back of the board.

The quartet travels through Sugar Rush until it gets to its sour-sugar beach. As they set up, they caught sight of Taffyta walking along the beach. Before she could even greet them, a loud engine roars from above head. Roxas rolls to a complete stop. He glances at his bike's engine. "Great... How do you get sand out of an engine," he mutters. "I can show you," Taffyta waves at him with a flirty smile. He quirked one of his licorice colored brows in interest.

Felix raised his finger to try to question what's going on, but decides to drop it. Before long a horn honks at the continuously growing group. There was a moment of silence for the players of Fix-It Felix Jr. and Hero's Duty. "Hey sweetie. So glad you invited us," Confection kisses her on both cheeks.

Ralph looked like he wanted to say something, but before he could Calhoun intercepted him. "I don't want to be a downer, but why are they here? Don't they have royal duties or something?" she asked trying to be the rational one out of the bunch.

Naturally the royal couple didn't hold any regard to it and thought of it as a simple question. "I would agree with you there, but I can't say no to this little girl when she gives me _the face_," Candy says with his embarrassment showing on his face. "The face?"

Vanellope decided to demonstrate. Her eyes became larger, if that were possible, and extremely moist. Her lower lip puckered out and started to quiver a bit. Everyone recoiled once it was in full effect. She chuckles before putting her secret weapon away. At that moment everyone made a mental note. "_Note to self: Watch out for the face..._"

"So are we getting our gear or what?" Roxas finally asked.

The beach goers walk the sandy beach until they run into the ambassador of the province. "So you decided to shoot the curl prez? Righteous! If you're looking for your gear, you can visit the twins, Badda and Bing." she pointed out a store with all sorts of swim gear attached to it.

"Welcome to Palmer Bros, where we've got gear for the homies and gear for the does!" A stern look from their leader caught their eyes. "We weren't gonna say _that_!" one of them snorted. "Behave you two. I don't need to remind you that you're serving royalty," Everlyn scolded. The brothers pushed her to the side. "_Dude the president looks kinda hawt_," Bing whispered to Badda. "_Yeah and queen-mama and blonde are total divas dude!_" They looked over to their customers. "Well come right in. We've got everything an accessory-man would need."

Calhoun glares at the adolescents with a look that screamed _look at me that way and I'll cut you_. The twins gulped at the woman who was clearly not from a friendly game. "Swimsuits for the honeys are on the right, bros on the left. We'll just let Evy show you where to go ladies. Fellas, follow us."

The males followed the twins to the back of the store to get their swim trunks. Felix was wearing a blue pair, Roxas was wearing a violet pair, Candy was wearing a salmon pair, and Ralph... "I'm not wearing that thing..." he stated with a scowl. "Well brosef, we don't have anything else that can fit a dude your size. Seriously, you are one big dude! I swear if you hit the cactus you'd be a naked deer man," Badda said as he nonchalantly pulled at the elastics in the_ banana hammock_. "Not happening."

"Today's a good day to hit the surf dude! You just can't be a chubby checker man! That's just twisted..." Bing said as if insulted. Ralph certainly knew he wasn't going to be caught wearing a speedo, and he knew that Vanellope would probably complain about not enjoying the beach. Just then an idea sprung into his head. His code shifted over his form until he was younger. "Righteous bro! We totally have some baggies for you." Bing pulled out a pair of red trunks with white Hawaiian flowers. _Well it beats the speedo_.

On the other side of the shop the ladies seemed to be enjoying their pick of the suits; Taffyta wore a pink bikini, Calhoun wore something more conservative — black wetsuit, Confection wore a peach one piece with lace, and Vanellope wore a peppermint striped bikini.

"Badical! We can bake you guys some hoverboards from the _Backroom_ and we're all good. We just have to wait for the boys," Everlyn says as they make their way back to the heart of the store. "Woo!" she shouted. "Was that necessary?" Calhoun states bluntly with mild agitation; her fingers slowly move from her ears.

"Uh, chaa. You guys aren't use to the ways of the beach obviously. It's a surfer thing. We usually shout to call waves, call people over, or acknowledge someone's coming into the water. I've also made it an alarm system around here. Last thing we need are some kooks ruining the beach for the locals and the tourists. This place is kind of a hotspot ya'know," she explained as if it were common knowledge. The twins come to the front of the store with the males in their respective swim trunks.

Taffyta seemed content as she shamelessly eyed Roxas' body outside his armor; she was more than impressed. She suppressed the urge to squeak. Vanellope shook her head and cast a casual glance over to her partner in crime, _and boy was that a mistake_. Her skin crawled, but she didn't know if it was in a good way or a bad way; it kind of felt like both. She cuts her visual exploration short when she notices a pair of brown eyes eying her in a similar fashion.

The brother pair scanned the women's choice of beach gear. "We knew Evy could pick some _bodacious_ wear. We'll take you guys to the _Backroom_ now." The store owners usher them to the back of the store to a workshop. "The rules are simple: Pick a template, bake the template, and add on; all within a minute. We'll be making your boards since you guys probably don't get the delicate nature of the boards. So let's get started!"

"Okay for Your Prez-ness, I think that a gunboard is more your style. We wouldn't want you wiping out or something." Bing pulled a lever, which started the game. A large puzzle board with several candy pieces materialized in front of them. He moved each candy to match with a group with a similar color. The ingredients slowly sifted to the bottom with every movement until the ingredients were enough. The bowl moves into a machine bringing out a plain gunboard.

"Now here's where it gets fun..." Badda snickered as his brother rolled his eyes. On the other side of the room seven different engine types flew from their holding place. Everyone dived out of the way as they sailed all over the place. Bing dodge the oncoming engines like a pro and picked one that worked best on water courses. He took a paintball gun filled with frosting and unleashed its content onto the board. He blew at the smoking tip before handing over the board. "There ya go lil' bunny."

Vanellope took the board and examined it. To her amusement it held a rugged charm that was similar to her car. "Nice," she muttered as she slid a finger over its sleek surface. "Good. Now how about Ms. Commando?" Badda said as he was about to pull the lever to restart the machine. "That's Mrs. Commando to you and I already brought my own board," she stated as she swung her board over her shoulder. "Sah-weet!" they chorused at the sleek black hoverboard.

The brothers looked at each other with amusement. "Dude, we like said that at the same time!" they gasped again. "Dude!" Everlyn smacked her forehead. "Eh, eh, eh! Focus scatterbrains," she snaps her fingers in front of their face. "Right, right. So let's get everyone their boards."

The game repeated for six more hoverboards; each fitting their owners in their own way. They made their way to the cash register to pay for their items. "How much?" Vanellope asked with her wallet already out. "No way, ma'am. Put that cash clam away. It's on the house," Badda said with a smirk. "You're giving away seven hoverboards and a bunch of swim gear, I insist," she said more in a demand. "Alright, how about this then. This time it's on the house and next time you and your groupies roll by you can pay us? Can't have our prez's first time being ruined with a thing like money," Bing chimed in. "Alright, alright."

"Noice!" the brother's high-fived each other. "You guys chillax and jazz the glass. Enjoy the beach yo," they waved their customers off.

The group made their way back to their spot before Everlyn activated her hoverboard. "You bank babies have fun on the sand, I'm going in! _Woo_!" she shouted. Out in the ocean the other surfers shouted back her call on an upcoming wave.

The remaining party stays on the beach to at least start cooking something for them to have later on. "What's that thing?" Confection asked as she pointed at the meat patty on the grill. "It's called a burger. It's really good and surprisingly not candy. Weird huh?" Vanellope chimed in. Taffyta glances out to the ocean. "Uh, anyone actually know how to ride one of these things," she asks as she examines the funboard. "I can teach you. Tammy taught all of us to use her board so it won't take that long to learn, I promise," Felix said in his usual cheerful tone. "Okay."

Roxas and Taffyta follow Felix into the water to begin their lesson. Vanellope glances over to her parents. "You guys aren't going to go learn?" she asks. "Not at the moment no. I want to try one of these burger things," Candy said as he eyes the sizzling meat. She chuckles at her dad's avidity. "Those won't be done for a while. So we might as well have a little fun. Look out poser, Vanellope von Schweetz is coming in!" she shouted as she hopped onto her gunboard. Some of the surfers cheered as they saw that their leader was coming in.

Ralph decided to head for the waves since Calhoun decided to assist Felix teach his class. He pressed the clutch at the base of the board to shift to a leisurely transition. His eyes went to Vanellope, who was at the crest of one of the waves; she was clearly enjoying herself. Her eyes went down to the large bright-red dot. A smirk went to her face, which sent a wave of embarrassment down to her favorite villain.

Ralph thanks his lucky stars that she didn't seem to notice his blush. She glitches from on top of the wave to be next to him. "Ah!" he screams before falling off his board. "Don't do that..." Vanellope laughs at his derision, but knew it was all in good fun. "Come on, let's surf together Stinkbrain," she circles around him on her board. He shrugs, but decides to go along with it.

In the midst of the wave, the duo was angling to the curl of the wave. Ralph seemed to be enjoying himself more now that he was in the water. His eyes glanced at Vanellope who was standing on her board in a more sedated stance, a smirk inched on her face as she winds blew against her wet hair. His large hands beat against his head because his brain felt like it was malfunctioning.

Vanellope and Ralph exit the closing tunnel on the wave at last. The surfing session seemed to be over as neither of them could spot anyone from their group in the water. They leisurely made their way back to the beach to see Felix sprawled out on a beach towel. "Well what did we miss?" Ralph asked as he took his flightless board in hand.

"Surfing lesson. It was a success, but I'm a little tired. I think I'll just lay on the beach for a minute before going back out," he states as he rises to a sitting position. "Hoverboarding is pretty easy. The waves won't be a problem. Thanks for the lesson teach," Roxas said as he gave him a smack to the back. Felix took that moment to lay back down on the towel. "Well food's ready on the pit for anyone who's hungry," Calhoun said as she pulled a few of the various meats from the pit.

Ralph sat next to his counterpart to take a breather while the others were making their plate. Felix glances up at him once he notices that the wrecker was blocking the sun. His eyes drifted to a certain feature that was standing at attention. His face went from peach to scarlet before he could even speak. "_Ralph..._" he whispers, "_Your circus is setting up its tent in your trunks._"

His eyes bulged out as he glanced downward. He immediately took his board and covers his extension. His eyes shift about to see if anyone else noticed; to his relief Felix was the only one. "_What am I going to do? This never happened — at least not in public!_" he whispers to Felix. "_I say hide it until you can make a mad dash for the water. I swear you're worse than a-_" Felix's eyes went to Ralph's current form. "_Oh my Land._"

It took Ralph a moment before he caught on to what Felix was implying. In the corner of his eye, he caught Roxas telling a joke about something that happened to one of the bikers the other day. His teeth were grinding against each other. "Ralph..." Felix called to him. He glances to him to see a concerned look on the handyman's face. "_You need to keep your hormones under control. This is no time to get all flustered. You need to-_" Ralph was already up with his board covering himself.

Roxas notices that a substantial shadow was over him. His crimson eyes went to the larger male. "Uh, can I help you?" he asks with an odd look. "Just wanting to see if you were interested in a little guy-to-guy competition is all." The biker thought on it as his eyes went to Taffyta. A smirk went on his face. "Can't say I don't love a challenge. You're on!"

Queen Confection nibbled on the surprisingly tasty meat-food as she watched the boys head out to the water. A smirk crept onto her face as she glances at her daughter. Vanellope was squeezing the lemon-lime soda out of her hair until she notices her mother's eyes. "What?" she asks. "Oh, nothing. Just something interesting is about to happen."

Vanellope looks out into the ocean to see Ralph and Roxas surfing alongside each other. Roxas seemed to give Ralph some decent competition despite being a newbie. She didn't really see what was so special about them racing. "I like racing as much as the next person, but I don't get it," she says. Confection shook her head. "They're peacocking for attention Vanny," she said as she took another bite of her burger. "Peacocking? Seriously? Mom. Come on; they're just surfing."

"No, they're courting you, well at least one of them is," she eyes Ralph who was preparing to go aerial — as he did so his eyes went to Roxas and back to the competition. For a second she could have sworn he glanced her way. "_Whoa-boy..._" she mutters before she hides behind her mother. "I don't see the big deal sweetie. He's such a nice boy. I like him. Now your father on the other hand..." Confection rolled her eyes at her prediction of his reaction. Before Vanellope could have time to respond, she notices that the boys were riding in. Her eyes grew wide.

"You guys were so dunzo out there! I mean, like dude, you were anglin' and then aerialin'! And then-" Everlyn was soon grabbed by her president. "Just the girl I was looking for. Remember I wanted to talk to you about the thing at the place _way_ over there," Vanellope said as she slowly drags her away from the group. "Uh, no..." she replies with a confused look. "Well it's a good thing I remembered for you. Be back in a minute," she waves off the weird looks.

Roxas looks at Ralph with an awkward look. "What got into her?" he asked. The wrecker shrugged and took one of the remaining burgers that were left. Confection was the only one chuckling about the odd behavior. "Coni what did you do?" Candy asks as he returned from having a conversation with Taffyta of all people. "I didn't say a thing," she said with her hand over her heart.

Not too far away from the group, Everlyn was sucked into the _dire_ situation her president. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Back it up and put it in park Your Prez-ness, crikey," she finally said. "This is really bad Everlyn — really, really bad," Vanellope said as she glances out to where she left the source of her panic.

"See there you go. You're flipping out over nothing. I already told you that if you're going to do that courting thing that the rents told ya to do then find a dude that you'd go totally fambo over, and look at you; your heart is in total doki-doki mode," Everlyn said with a mischievous smirk. "My heart is not in doki-doki mode! He's my best friend and now I have to deal with this. What am I going to do?" she asks. "So you don't like him? He's a total stag, and you're like his doe. _Dude is a total spicy nugget if you ask me_," she paused to get the mental image out of her head. "I may not be the smartest person, but I know this dude named Shakespeare made this saying; come what may. It means let whatever come to pass come to pass, and if that means you and brosiah over there fambo, then you fambo," she said as if it were obvious.

"Seriously, you make things so complicated. If you like him then you do, if you don't then you don't. It's simple. You'll figure things out in time, but until then hang out with your homie." Vanellope sighs at the flagrant dismissal of her _issue_, but came up with a simple solution to her plight; act like she didn't notice and see what happens.

A figure shrouded in a cloak watched as the two females walked back to their beach spot. Everlyn glanced over her shoulder for a moment. "You go on ahead, I'll meet up with ya in a minute." Vanellope shrugged, but went on.

The figure revealed itself to the _Riders_ representative. "Evening ambassador," a feminine voice greeted from under the cloak. "Hey Abba Zaba. What are you doing out on this lovely day," she smiled at the candy woman. "You know I only come outside for one reason."

Everlyn's smile faded gradually. "Does it involve me or the president," she asked. "It involves all of Sugar Rush. Danger lies up ahead ambassador. Really big danger!" Abba Zaba said as she removed her hood. "Well that ain't good. How about I let you tell this to prez yourself..."

* * *

No one bothered to question where the leader of the province was, but didn't worry too much. Candy and Confection were out in the water surfing while Tomora and Felix were enjoying a bit of the romantic atmosphere provided by the beach. This left Vanellope with Ralph and nothing to really do but relax.

Vanellope stares at the sky without much thought to it. "_It's not as exciting, but nice,_" she thought. Out of the corner of her eyes she could see that Roxas took to talking about the workings of his whip to Taffyta, who seemed very intent on listening to the ways the candy could be used in the Zero G! fights. "_Seems like they're getting along fine,_" she chuckles at the interaction.

"What's so funny?" she heard from her right; it was Ralph. "Oh nothing really. Just saw something funny," she replied. "What was it?" he asked out of curiosity. "Your face," Vanellope stuck her tongue out at him playfully. "Oh ha ha ha."

Out in the distance they could see Everlyn walking side by side next to a nougat candy citizen in odd attire. "Uh, who is that?" Felix asked as he sat up. "No clue."

Abba Zaba walked over to where she saw Vanellope. She glanced at the wrecker to assure him that she meant no harm. "Uh, Everlyn... Who is this?" Vanellope asked. "This is going to sound uber cray-cray, but she's a beach guru cooha."

"You're right. That does sound crazy," Taffyta responded with a questioning look. "It's true though. It's kind of creepy, but she's the real deal. She predicted that Pezro would be the most picked avatar for Riders and dude was played seven times dude! That's no coincidence if you ask me," she said as she sat on one of the beach towels. "So what does she want with me?"

Abba Zaba looked at the president as if she felt concerned about her. "I see danger up ahead Ms. President. A new enemy will rise from the ashes of the old. I'd be on your toes if I were you," she warned. "I don't suppose you can't be more specific than that could ya?" Vanellope asked with a scrunched up mouth. "I don't know this enemy by name, but by face only. It isn't a part of this programming. When it comes it will come like a hungry beast in the night. That's all I can offer you." The nougat candy slowly hobbles away from the group. "And she just freaks me out and walks away? Unbelievable!"

"Well she can't stay out in the sun too long. She's got this phobia of melting so she usually stays in her hut down the ways," Everlyn pointed in the direction the candy was heading. Roxas scowled over this. "I don't care if it's a load of mumbo-jumbo or fact, I don't like that it's pointed at Vanellope," he glowered. "Well it's not like you could bodyguard her 24/7," Taffyta said with a hint of sarcasm, but it was obvious she was curious about the recent development. "No, but I can teach her how to fight."

"What's this about a fight?" Candy said as he and his wife returned from the water. "Sugar Rush is in impending danger and Roxas wants to teach Vanny how to defend herself," Taffyta said relatively quickly. This earned her a few glares. "What?" she shrugged.

"I don't think it's that bad an idea actually," Candy replies with a pondering look on his face. "You don't?" Vanellope asked somewhat shocked. "Better safe than sorry. _Besides, you can use whatever you learn to keep away boys,_" he whispered the latter, which earned him an elbow in his rib from Confection. Vanellope spares one more glance out to the direction of the _prophet_, but her silhouette had already faded long ago.

* * *

I'm sure some of you know some of these, but just to be safe.

**Surf****er Translations:**  
-shoot the curl: to go surfing  
-righteous: awesome  
-does: females who have an interest in surfing; a female surfer  
-divas: older women who have an interest in surfing; older female surfers, usually between 25-35  
-accessory-man: a person who just has to have everything to enjoy their beach experience  
-honeys: similar to does, but can also refer to women who like to stay on the beach  
-brosef: it's another way of saying bro, but on friendlier terms  
-hitting the cactus: when you hit the reef or wipe out really badly  
-naked deer: when you lose your swimwear  
-banana hammock: speedo  
-chubby checker: someone who misses a good day to surf just to lay around on the beach  
-badical: a mixture of the word bad and radical; refer to righteous  
-chaa: yeah  
-bodacious: sexy  
-gunboard: a board meant to take on the huge waves  
-sah-weet: variant of sweet; refer to righteous  
-noice:variant of nice; refer to righteous  
-cash clam: wallet  
-jazz the glass: refer to shoot the curl  
-bank babies: people who stay on shore  
-angling: steering the board left or right  
-aerial(ing): going in the air  
-dunzo: refer to righteous  
-crikey: similar to whoa, wow, sheesh, or something of that nature  
-fambo: head over heels in love  
-stag: muscular male  
-spicy nugget: an attractive muscular male  
-brosiah: your hero (in this case Everlyn is referring to the fact that he saved their game)  
-guru: a teacher, and can also be known as a bum/nomad on the beach  
-cooha: female surfer  
-uber: super  
-cray-cray: insane

(**A/N:** Now that you guys have had your vocabulary lesson for the day, here's a bit more explaining. Ralph is in his younger form so ergo he is experiencing things that someone his age would be experiencing. Since boys mature later than girls do, Ralph is still undergoing hormones and other things that deal with puberty. Yeah the guru/prophetess thing was kind of random, but I was talking with one of my reviewers and she mentioned Baba Yaga — no she didn't ask for me to put it in here — so I thought, hey why not. XD So I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. If you are still confused feel free to PM me or leave a review. I'd prefer a review so that if you do, I can answer similar questions in the next chapter instead of in a few PMs.)


	10. Lucky

**Disclaimer: "**Wreck-It Ralph" and all characters related to the movie belong to The Walt Disney Company, and/or their respective gaming companies. Wreck-It Ralph was created by Rich Moore, Phil Johnston, and Jim Reardon. Level Up! and any characters not associated in their own respective franchise belong to Berserkeroo. All rights reserved.

(**A/N: **Sorry for the long time it took to post this. I've tried writing it as much as possible, but I've had finals, one of which I'm sure murdered my grade in that class, but I digress. I've been busy moving home today too so I've wrote the remainder of this chapter the night I finished my final so it would be ready by the time I get home. Here's the chapter, hope you guys enjoy.)

* * *

_"**Danger lies up ahead...**"an elderly voice echoes. The entirety of the sugary lands were on fire. Everyone was screaming as many fled from the game in fear. Vanellope was fleeing her game with her friends until a scream came from above head. "Help me!" Candlehead shouted with tears staining her face. An elongated coleopteran with oozing green saliva cut off her path. Almondandro took his ice cream cone mace to come to her aid._

_"We need to vacate fast. They're coming!" Roxas said as he surveys the area. "I'm not leaving her! Just go!" Almondandro shouts as he bashes the creature's skull in. Candlehead lands in his arms before he sets her to the ground. The skies faded from blue to red. "Vanellope!" she could hear her name being shouted. She looks over to see Ralph rushing over with his clothes tattered._

_The group sprints until they get to the gate of the game. Candy citizens were still running away from the impending dangers. Everyone makes their way through the gate; Roxas took point to lead the way out followed by Taffyta, Candlehead, Snowanna, Almondandro, Swizzle, and then Ralph made his way out. "Come on!" he shouts as Vanellope watches her home fall to ruin. With a bereft sigh she runs for the gate until she's hit with a barrier. Shock immediately falls upon her face as she pushes against the shield, but to no avail. She turns her back to the sound of loud tromping steps. "Oh no, oh no, oh no..." she mutters in a mantra._

_Another slim coleopteran slinks upon the girl as she starts to glitch. This one was different as it had someone riding upon its head. The being was shrouded, but a sinister golden smile pierce through the inky silhouette. "**A new enemy will rise from the ashes of the old,**" the same voice echoes as the creature is but a hair away from her face. It reared back its head before making its strike. She let out a scream as her fate was now sealed._

Vanellope was still screaming as she thrashes about in her sheets. Someone or something was trying to shake her awake, but they were met with a fist to the face. She wakes up in a start as she takes in that she was safely in her room. A sigh of relief escaped her as she tries to calm herself down. A groan came from the floor. She glances down to the floor to see that Sour Bill was holding his face in a fetal position. "Oops. Sorry Sour Bill," she apologizes.

Sour Bill mutters something she couldn't make out too clearly, but he shook off the pain. He glances up at the now awake _president_. "I just came to wake you up for the morning," he droned. "I don't see why. I'm not on the roster today," she said as she stretched her arms upward. "You still have to eat plus your parents wanted you to handle some of the duties today since they're racing today. Also, Ambassador Popper wanted to see you when you're done. He said something about training," he said with a platonic look on his face.

"Ode to joy," she mutters with false jubilation. A thought went through her head. "_I have the day off after this. What should I do?_" she ponders. It could wait until she finished her _duties_ for the day. A small chuckle erupts from her as she replays the humorous play on words.

* * *

Vanellope finishes her chores with ease, and heads out to the castle courtyard to find Roxas standing in wait for their lesson. He seemed acutely interested in his manicure until he noticed her presence. "Afternoon Your Majesty," he gives her a curtsy. She took that opportunity to hit him while his head was bowed, and she would have succeeded too if he didn't block her hand. "Rule one Your Majesty, never lower your guard," he chides with a smirk. The young president quirks her brow at her instructor.

Roxas poises himself in an erect stance. He paces a few steps back before addressing her. "Oh I've got a treat for you on our next lesson. I've decided to take Taffyta as a pupil too. I think it would be fair for you to spar someone on your own level to reenact what you've learned more than having me throw you flat on your butt," he chuckles. She sticks her tongue out at the arrogant teen, but she could understand his point.

The ambassador smirks at her expectantly. "We have until closing time for you to practice. Now lets begin. We'll start with defensives, to be more precise; your ability to be flexible." His hands sway about in a circular motion before enticing the body to follow in their path. He leads his hand through the gap between his legs before placing his palms firmly on the ground and striking a balancing pose with his back arched. His crimson eyes went to her. "By the end of our practice you'll be this flexible... or a pretzel."

Vanellope was leaning more towards her becoming a pretzel before being able to stand on her palms in _that_ position. If the arcade had a god, she wished that they would have mercy on her back.

* * *

Vanellope was rubbing her lumbar region with mild irritation. "_And I thought Sarg could drill a person,_" she stretches her spine until it popped. To her relief it soothed the pain. _Much better._ She decided that now was a good time to start walking. Roxas recommended her to condition her muscles for extensive workouts so that they don't have to bring their sessions to a close early like they did today. The gate _Fix-It Felix Jr.: Extended_ came into view. The Surge Protector was with Cyril Zombie this time so she took her time entering the game.

A few of the Nicelanders acknowledged her as she enters their game while they're taking their leave. She walks around the town to look for her partner in crime, but couldn't find him. "Where is he?" she mutters.

Ralph was placing some of the collectable coins from the new gameplay into his pockets. He notices that Vanellope was up the road looking around for him so he decides to go to her. "Hey squirt," he calls out.

Vanellope grins before running to the large villain for one of her infamous pounce-hugs. As she nears him she notices that he was in his younger form. "_Right. You can't do that with him anymore._" She immediately stops about a foot away from him. "Hey pal o'mine," she gins with an extended hand.

Ralph quirks an auburn eyebrow at the change of her greeting, but it didn't bother him much. He takes her extended hand and shakes it, but unknown to her the young wrecker had a backup plan. He shifts his hand to grab her by the wrist and brings her into a hug. "A for effort, but I still get a hug," he laughs. Vanellope's eyes grew large at the sudden action, but she gradually accepted it and hugs him back.

After being released she glances around for any sign of Felix. "Where's Hammer Time?" she finally asks since she couldn't find him. Ralph had to resist the urge to laugh at that nickname. Felix would never live down that night at Tappers. "Gene made an appointment with Dr. Mario and he couldn't reschedule so Felix is attending one of those multi-game representative meetings in his place with Calhoun. I'm surprised that you're not going," he asks with suspicion. "Well since my parents are king and queen, they are handling more of my old responsibilities so I've got more free time these days," she explains. Her eyes glance up at him. "So what's the plan for the day?"

In all honesty, he didn't know. He was planning on drinking at Tapper's for most of the day and enjoy a well-earned day of rest. Today was going to be a day of spontaneousness for them since she came out of nowhere. "Well since we don't have Tammy and Felix, why don't we do some real game-jumping today? Lets go through the outlet to the _home_ consoles Litwak keeps on the other side of the arcade," he offers. Vanellope can't say she saw that suggestion coming, but she agrees to it anyways.

* * *

It was a long trek across Game Central Station, but they reached the port that would lead them to the other section of the arcade — to Game Boreal Station. The walk wasn't that bad, at least not from Vanellope's perspective since her favorite spot in the arcade was also her mode of transportation most of the way. She slides down from his shoulders and dusts off her cocoa-colored wrapper skirt.

The pair walks up to the glowing grand archway that reads _Game Boreal Station_. They take their seat in the massive train. On the way coming in a few characters were taking the opposite lane on the way in to GCS. A bright white light temporarily impairs the two before showing the bustling cerulean station. GBS was quite similar to GCS, even down to a rather annoying Surge Protector trying to put a damper on everyone's mood.

"Unbelievable. Nowhere is safe," Ralph comments as the blue coded woman stops the entire Sly Cooper gang from taking another step forward. She asks them the standard set of questions in her default programming. "Come on static diva, you're crampin' our gang's style. Can't we just live and love baby? Everything will be sleek and sweet if you let us go surge sister," Dimitri said throwing his various hand signs as if to emphasize his point. "Say what now?" she asks with a confused look. "I think he basically means that we'll be on our best behavior and that we won't steal anything... _yet_," Sly silently added the latter. The female Surge Protector let out a sigh, but let the gang of vagabonds go to do as they please.

The visitors to the region try to slip by the woman while she was busy, but she made quick work of hassling the newcomers. "This place won't get many visitors with you harping everyone you know," Vanellope informs her. "It doesn't matter so long as I keep this place safe and do my job now answer my questions," she states deadpan. The president wanted to throttle her for the bark in her tone, but knew it wouldn't be any use. They quickly went through the procedure before being left alone by the blue she-devil. "I'm starting to miss our Surge," she comments.

They gaze at the various gates that lead to console sub-regions. "How about we try the Wii gate. It looks like it might be fun," Ralph offers with a shrug. Neither of them had anything better to go off of so they went through the gate.

Several game file-gates were active in the _Wii_ sub-region. Vanellope grabs his arm to get his attention. "Dude they stole Tammy's game!" She points at a gate that reads _Call of Duty_. Ralph held an astounded look, but he knew that some games were bound to repeat in gameplay; he just silently hoped that the game wouldn't result in Hero's Duty getting unplugged. He scans the area a little more to find a decent game for their first visit — and then he found it. _Brunswick Pro Bowling_.

"Bowling? Are you serious," Vanellope asks with scrutiny. "It's fun, safe, and we've never done it before," he reasons. Well she couldn't really fault him on his reasoning behind it. They weren't at home and it wouldn't be wise to foolishly test unknown waters. "Fine," she shakes her head as they walk in to the gate.

Soft competitive music plays in the background as the two walk into the bowling alley. A man was polishing one of the balls until he notices the pair. He's never seen them before so he decided to do his job and show them to the equipment. "Hi, my name is Paul and I'm the owner of the bowling alley here. This is the only area we allow for characters since we don't want them unlocking levels for the players. Over here is where you can get your shoes." He walks over to the counter. "Size sir?"

Ralph looks at his bare feet. "Uh, I don't wear shoes." Paul tisked at this. "I can't let you on the floor if you don't wear bowling shoes. It's a hazard and you might mess up the lanes pretty badly if you don't," Paul explained as he peered over the counter to clarify that the man did indeed lacked shoes. "I'm going to guestimate and say you're around a size sixteen," he says, pulling out a large pair of shoes.

Paul looks up and down at Vanellope before glancing down at her feet. "I wear a size 9½ Paul," she calls to his attention. "Right, so that'll equate to a size 7½ ," he responds before pulling out her respective size. "Balls are over on the rack near the lanes. Feel free to experiment with the weight and have fun you two," he gives Ralph a thumbs up with a wink.

Ralph's eyes grew large at the encouragement, but he tries to hide it. After Felix lectured him last night, he didn't want to try to spark any of his hormones again. "_Keep control. Keep control..._" They both fiddle with the weight of the bowling balls before finding a size that would suit their strength. Soon after, they find themselves on the floor setting up their respective scoreboard. Being the gentleman that he is, he offered for Vanellope to go first.

Vanellope lets out a breath before rolling the ball. They both watch as the ball goes down the lane and then straight into the gutter. "_Oh fudge bunnies,_" she mutters before leaving for Ralph to take his turn. "It's not like you're instantly good at a game on the first try Vanellope," he comments before rolling the ball down the lane. It was a perfect strike. "_It's not like you're instantly good at a game on the first try Vanellope,_" she mocks in a masculine voice.

Ralph rolls his eyes at the comment before leaving the girl to have her turn, which she manages to at least hit a few pins this time. He smiles as she cheers at her victory, however little it may be.

They continue their game with Ralph having a darn near flawless victory in the game. Vanellope didn't really hold any contempt since she could handle losing with dignity and grace, but it didn't help her ego that she barely got into the double digits either. "Want to play another round? I can help since I seem to be pretty good at this," Ralph offers. "_Well of course I would. It involves knocking things over,_" he mentally chuckles. "Eh, I'll bite," she shrugs before taking her ball.

Vanellope positions herself to get ready to roll her ball. "See that's your first problem; you're leaning your weight too much on the right. You're going to make the ball run straight into the gutter. So maybe if you weren't bent over like this," he repeats her pose, "... and positioned more like this," he positions himself with his feet placed firmly apart, "... maybe you'd hit the pin." His muscles rippled through his shirt and his biceps flexed quite impressively. She glances away for a moment, before deciding to take his advice. She shifts more of her weight to the left before rolling the ball down the lane — knocking down at least seven out of the ten pins. "Sweet!" she fist pumps the air.

She waits for her ball to return. The pristine purple orb rolls from the opening of the machine that retrieves the bowling balls. Vanellope shifts her weight again, but the ball goes straight in the gutter. "Son of a..." she snorts. "I just hit seven and now I'm in the gutter!" Ralph noticed how she was rolling the ball. "Repeat how you were releasing the ball." She looks at him questioningly, but does as she was told. Her cheeks were stained scarlet as he wrapped his form around her and morphed his arm to slide along hers. She felt a little lightheaded and then she remembered that she had to breathe. His large cupped the back of her hand and gently led her hand in the proper motion. She was sure he was saying something, but she was too distracted to listen.

Vanellope rapidly struggles out of his embrace with her face the equivalent of a strawberry. After she's certain that her face isn't flushed, she turns to her _friend_. "I think we can hold off on bowling. Maybe we can come back with Felix and Sarg or something," she said in a rushed voice. Ralph looks at her with mild curiosity, but decides to not get too hopeful and drop her behavior. "All right. How about we go to another game?"

"How about we go to Dance Dance Revolution?" She suggests. "But that's all the way back in GCS," Ralph states. "No, there's one I saw on the other side of the sub-region. Come on. It's DDR. It's fun, safe, plus we both can dance."

* * *

Ralph and Vanellope walks through the Wii sub-region until they come across their destination. They could actually hear the music from the tunnels. They ease into the booming club with quite a few people on the dance floor.

A spectrum was radiating off of the bright afro of a vivacious ebony girl on the dance floor. "Yeah baby! It may be hot in here, but I'm about to make you boys shiver at these moves," a familiar voice shouts over the crowd. The group was cheering on the girl as she showed off some of her new moves. "Snow? What is she going on this side of the arcade," Vanellope questions over with confused look. A small finger taps her onto her shoulder. "Candlehead?" The girl in question giggles at the bemusement on her face. "Hi Vanellope! You finally decided to join this neck of the wire I see." She eyes the sessile biker Almondandro who didn't look very interested in the club, but she knew that he was an observer and that's how he enjoyed scene in his own way. Her eyes slowly glance over to Wreck-It Ralph. "Oh you're here with Ralph. You two out on a date I see," she nudges her in the rib.

If Vanellope's face scrunched up any more she'd fear that wrinkles might permanently permeate her skin. "This isn't a date. Sarg and Felix are at Game Central Council so it's just us today," she replies.

Ralph glances over the crowd to find one of his Bad-Anon buddies dancing with the disco diva. Zangief notices his immensely tall comrade and walks over to him. "Ralph my friend, is good time to hang out in dance club no?" he pats him on the back. "Uh, no... yes? Maybe," Ralph replies with a hint of confusion. "I see you're with sugar princess tonight. Going to strut the moves for her right? I am doing the same with little snow bunny on the dance floor. She's very good at dancing. Makes it an art form; nice and sweet and sexy," he comments.

Without her dance partner, Snowanna decides to join Candlehead, who was with Vanellope. "Vanellope? Hey girl. Did know you knew about _Wii DDR_," she says before giving her a hug. She notices two large males chatting not that far away. "And you're here with your beau too? Work it Ms. President," she teases, which makes Vanellope the color of a cherry. "Oh guys stop. Ralph and I aren't dating and hopefully it can stay that way," she says quite firmly.

Snowanna and Candlehead glance at each other before looking at her. "_A little defensive much?_" Candlehead whispers in concern. "_That or denial is more than a river in Egypt,_" Snowanna whispers back. "_Well that just won't do now will it?_" The two whisper out a plan before look at Vanellope who was giving them a look of conviction; she knew her friends were up to something.

Candlehead walks over to Almondandro before telling him the plan. He looks at her with a disapproving scowl, but he knew it was just for show. She pulls him out on the dance floor and they disappear into the crowd. This leaves Snowanna with Vanellope. "Okay something's bugging you about big boy over there so spill," she asks. "Snow there isn't any-" A tawny colored hand halted her from further protest. "Did you forget who your best friend was before Turbo had to mess things up? That's right, it's me. I know you better than the comb in my fro," she fluffs her hair.

Vanellope couldn't deny it, after all it was true. "There's a long list of things as to why I don't want to/shouldn't date Ralph," she pauses with a look towards the wrecker. "_What if we don't work out? Things are already starting to change and I don't want to lose my best friend. On a worse note, what if he doesn't even see me that way and mom was wrong?_"

She snaps back to her ever-patient friend who seemed intent on helping in anyway possible. "What if he still thinks of me as a kid. It's still a work in progress with Tammy and Felix treating me more around my age, so why would he be any different?" Deep down she believed that statement was a lie, but what if he was just being protective of her — as usual — and it was all just in her head? "If I said_ hey buddy o'mine, I think I might like you. We should try dating._ Yeah that's going to go well. Daw, cute little Vanellope has a crush," she vents out.

Snowanna nods her head in understanding. "I can understand that, but that's why you've got to put your best foot forward and show him you're a woman. We may be sweet and cute as sugar, but we're not kids anymore. Quite a few of us liked characters outside of our game, and we thought that it would never happen since we were kids and that they'd always see us as kids, but look what happened. This is our chance and to be honest, all of us are taking full fledge advantage of it," she waves at Zangief. "You're with Zangief?" Vanellope asks, as she couldn't see how in Litwak's Arcade could she have gotten a crush on him. "We're a lot alike Vanny. We like our guys with a little _muscle_," she takes her eyes off of her eye candy.

Vanellope mentally bats away the unwanted — well it was wanted, but not right now — image from her head. She breathes out through her nose. If her face went red again, she was certain that her binary might rush to her head and she'd black out from numerical overflow. She hears snickering from Snowanna, who raises her hands in mock surrender. "_Oh yeah, you like him._" Her amethyst eyes went to the DJ booth to see if Candlehead had made it there yet.

Candlehead sifts through the crowd with the help of Almondandro. Her eyes went to Ralph and Zangief who were having an in depth conversation based on the way that they exaggerated their body gestures. She notices that Snowanna had managed to get Vanellope to come with her on the dance floor, which led Zangief to follow her like an excited puppy; and Ralph not that far behind. She whispers over to the male DJ who was bobbing his head to the syncopated beat of the new song.

The DJ glances her way with a questioning look. "After this song I have a request. This request is important. In a minute I need you to..." she whispers the song in his ear. "Lucky for you that a player uploaded that song on here little lady," he winks. A pair of vermillion eyes glare over at the flirtatious DJ. He recoils back as the biker takes her by the hand, kisses it, and leads her through the crowd.

Hot bodies were already on the dance floor either by themselves, with a partner, or with multiple partners. The music was fast paced and left little room for those who wanted to really cut loose. Crash Bandicoot spins around the dance floor with his own zany flare. Vanellope bumps into Ralph who was less than a hair away from her. She stumbles back a bit, but he secures her balance with one of his massive hands in the small of her back. Her breath hitched in the back of her throat as their eyes meet. Hesitation plagued his face, but she knew he wanted to say something. "_I'm not setting myself up for this..._" She pushes away from him before rushing out of the club.

Snowanna glances back to see that her best friend had fled the scene. She bit her lower lips as her plan hasn't even started yet and the girl just bolted. She stares at Ralph who was still a little confused and hurt on what just happened. She gave him a look that clearly stated: _hey stupid, go after her!_ He seemed to get the point since he was shuffling through the crowd. Candlehead walks over to her. "What happened?"

"They were this close and she bails out," the afrocentric young woman exasperates. "But he went after her," Candlehead noted. "He needed a little _motivation_. These two are such a handful. I swear I would have pushed that big lug if I had to," Snowanna rolls her eyes.

* * *

The music was booming in the background as Ralph manages to catch up with Vanellope without much plight. He grabs her by her hoodie, instantly stopping her from making another step. She hated being grabbed by her hood; it reminded her of whenever she was going to get scolded when she was a kid. "Ralph let me go," she starts to slip through her jacket. A muscular arm grabs her around her abdomen to prevent her escape. "Will you talk to me? You're being so distant today," he asks.

Vanellope knew she wasn't going to get away from Ralph; one: he was faster than her, two: he was stronger than her, and three: she didn't want to get away. She halfway twists around so that she could look at the expecting wrecker. Her mouth opens and closes mechanically. Ralph quirks his eyebrow at her as she starts to cry. He couldn't say he saw this coming. "Uhm, Vanellope are you okay?" He wanted to smack himself for asking that. "_Of course she's not okay you yutz, if she was she wouldn't be crying right now would she?_"

He could hear her mumble something that he couldn't make out. "What?" She lifts her face to make herself clear. "I don't want to lose you Ralph," she states while glitching a bit. Okay his brain felt like it was going to go into shutdown mode. "Wait, wait, wait. What?! Vanellope, you aren't going to lose me. What makes you think that anything would take me away?"

Vanellope took a soothing breath. "It all started when those representatives came in. I was flipping out when I saw someone come in for Fix-It Felix Jr. Who knew it would have been for an upgrade? You're game is so vintage that I thought that it meant they were going to unplug your game or that they'd move it somewhere for weird hipster kids; I wouldn't see you guys again," she starts off, but she was nowhere near done. "Then I wake up in _this_," she gestures to her older form, "... and I thought that if I looked different then the programmers might have changed my personality and you wouldn't want to be my friend anymore — lucky for me that they didn't. When I saw that you came to visit and treated me the same, I thought that we were going to be just fine.

"Then it hit me! I'm older! We could all have so much more fun together now that I looked my game's age. Maybe we could do more daring game-jumping and I wouldn't be looked at like a kid who needs her friends to save her butt." She looks up at the always constant nighttime sky of the game to take a moment. "It's been great that you guys have been trying to treat me more my age, and I seemed content with that until I've had a conversation with my parents and then there was the staring that we've been getting in GCS..." Ralph flinches a bit. "_Oh no. She's heard about the rumors,_" he mentally groans. Clearly, he wanted to say something, but he knew that she needed to get her point out first; for all he knew things weren't as bad as they seemed. "I've been talking with a few friends and my mom and they've been saying _things_..."

Ralph decided to play things safe and feign naivety. "What kind of things?"

"Things like dating, specifically you and I... dating," she finally blurts out. Ralph's face was close to staining red. He licks his drying lips. "And?" he nervously inquires. "I don't know if I want to; or better yet, I'm afraid to. I'm afraid of how we would change," she puts it more bluntly. The villain releases his held breath. "Nothing will change between us, even if we tried... _dating_," he says in a rushed tone. "You know if you wanted to." Vanellope glances up at him. "_He's actually considered this? Holy smokes everyone's been dead on the money,_" she realizes. "But what if things don't work out? I've seen players break-up. Some of them become bitter and refused to be on the same side of the arcade. I don't want one of us so bitter towards the other to the point where we never want to see each other again. _I wish we never had these stupid upgrades!_" she whispers the latter.

Ralph finally pieced together all of her statements; she feared that if they dated, and things didn't turn out right, she'd lose her best friend. He couldn't fault her for that reasoning. "Then answer me this: have you ever hated me?" Vanellope quirks her brow at the question. She's never hated him — even when he crushed her kart — she could never bring herself to hate him. "No..." she confesses. "And I've never hated you. I could never hate you. You're too important to me and hurting you is something I'd never be willing to do," he clarifies. "But things will be different? We'll have to act different." Ralph had to chuckle at that. "I don't think so. I don't think I'd want a clingy little princess as a girlfriend," he teases. "Hey watch it Stinkbrain!" she puffs out her cheeks. "See, I like this Vanellope." The confession shocked both of them, making them both blush simultaneously.

"So are we dating?" she tries to clarify. "Let's take it slow; you know, come what come may," Ralph says as he thinks of the advice he's received from his friends. Vanellope thinks about Everlyn in that moment; which she thought was an awkward coincidence. "I'd like that," she hugs him. The auburn teen froze for a moment before returning the display of affection. He hears her chuckling a bit. "You know you've just set yourself up for more of my infamous pounce-hugs," she notes. "Can't say that it's a bad or unwelcomed thing now can I?"

The music from the club seemed to die down into a faint song, which they took as odd for a Dance Dance Revolution game; it was uncommon that they played softer music. The soft strums of a guitar started to play before the lyrics started to play.

Ralph looked at her. "Since we're already like this, care to dance?" he asks. "Sure," she replies. Little did the newfound couple know, they were being spied on. Snowanna squeals with excitement. "_I am such a genius. Dancing always get the emotions flowing,_" she fist pumps the air. "Hey genius I didn't see you going through the masses to request to darn song," Candlehead notes with a scowl. "I'm a genius with a good co-genius. Happy?" she adds. "Very." The pair continues their observation of the two from one of the windows in Wii Dance Dance Revolution.

* * *

(**A/N:** See I told you guys that it'll come sooner than you think. You can all thank Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat for this. The song they were dancing to is the song collaboration by those artists called Lucky. Just finished moving in so I'll be resting for a while and maybe working on the next chapter tomorrow.)


	11. Something To Talk About

**Disclaimer:** "Wreck-It Ralph" and all characters related to the movie belong to The Walt Disney Company, and/or their respective gaming companies. Wreck-It Ralph was created by Rich Moore, Phil Johnston, and Jim Reardon. Level Up! and any characters not associated in their own respective franchise belong to Berserkeroo. All rights reserved.

(**A/N:** I feel that you guys deserve an explanation for the long time it took to update. I've been on vacation for a little over a week. I brought my laptop to do some writing, but the hotel I was staying at in DC apparently charges money. I would have paid had the charge not been a freaking internet bill per day! Note I said I was there for over a week so do the math. I wasn't going to spend that money so I did some massive note taking on how I would format the story whenever I wasn't with my relatives — the reason behind me going in the first place. So I'm back, I've been writing, and this chapter was originally insanely long so I had decided by the time I hit page 20 that I should chop this chapter in two. XD)

* * *

The antagonist of Fix-It Felix Jr. was more on top of his game than he's ever been; he barely let the players get a few medals. With another well-aimed throw he took the final life that Felix had for this round. The repairman fell from the screen before landing on his back on the ground. The player on the other side of the screen was getting frustrated; he only won two games, and this was his seventh try. "You know what? I quit! Your turn," he leaves the machine for another player. The player looks at the screen with the villain yelling his infamous saying. "**I'M GONNA WRECK IT!**" She shrugs, but goes through the gameplay. "Oh wow, this is harder than usual. Maybe I'm losing my touch."

Felix was running faster than he usually had to, giving him more of a work out. He silently wished that the player would have picked the upgrade, at least it wouldn't have been as taxing on his current body. "_Heaven to Betsy, Ralph is really into it today! Wonder what has my chum in such high spirits,_" he thought before dodging a brick. He couldn't say he wasn't enjoying it though; their game was in a fierce competition with Sugar Rush for being the most popular game in the arcade for the day.

Litwak called closing time and locked up the shop. The small man gave his shoulders a good pop. "_Oh yeah. That feels nice,_" he grinned. Ralph scales down the building, landing in a loud thud. The Nicelanders staggered a bit, but they held their ground. Gene looked his way. "Really impressive work out there Ralph. I don't think we've been this popular since we installed the bonus level. Be a little careful though. We don't want to get someone unplugged," he pats the wrecker on his massive hand before making his way out of the station.

Felix was curious about his sudden shift in his gameplay. "So what's with the extra _umph_ today brother? I'm not complaining, but gee willikers today was a doozie," he mimics his friend's trademark intimidating stance. Ralph had nothing to hide about his recently improved outlook, but he felt as though he should consult with Vanellope on the matter. The thought actually made him smirk, which only added to his short pal's curiosity. "How about I leave it a surprise until all of us meet up for our game-jumping. Speaking of which, I know a place that might spark your curiosity." He had no intention to get Felix to give up his day of picking their adventure, but he wouldn't mind dropping a few hints that Game Boreal Station is a place with interesting games; and it wouldn't hurt to see Tamora's face when she'd spot Call of Duty.

The protagonist only got more curious about the secrecy on why he could get a straight answer out of him, but patience was a virtue that he fortunately had.

* * *

In Sugar Rush, the off the clock _president_ was setting up for her leave. She made quick work of getting her _chores_ out of the way before doing so. Vanellope was running for the exit until she crossed paths with one of her favorite bikers. The brunette heard her coming and looked in her direction. He grabbed her and gave her a noogie. "Heya squirt! I was just going to get you for your practice," he said while barely holding her in a headlock.

"Roxas my hair is already a mess without you scattering it from here to kingdom crumb!" she tries to pull her head out of his embrace; to her relief he let her go. "Can we reschedule? I have places to go and people to see and I need to get there to talk about the places part," she walks off only to be hefted over his shoulders and heading back for the castle. "Can't do that Your Majesty. You agreed to my training so I've got you for half an hour. Can't go letting some shady enemy get the jump on you now can we?" Vanellope used her nails in a futile attempt to claw at his violet-colored, rock candy armor. "Oh come now, don't be that way. It would be rude since Taffyta is already on her way to be _your_ spar partner." She let out an exasperated groan, but knew her friends wouldn't mind the wait considering that this wasn't the first time she had ever ran late.

* * *

After the set amount of time, Vanellope was hoofing it with all she had to get to her waiting friends. Calhoun might scold her for not sending a messenger that she might be running late, but Roxas did make today's lesson brief so that the _sugar princess_ could enjoy the rest of her day. She wanted to throttle the ambassador for the gall he had to talk to her like that.

Vanellope made her way to the older portion of Fix-It Felix Jr. She spotted the patiently waiting trio scattered in front of the Niceland apartments. She hid behind a tree as she observed them with a smirk. A mischievous thought crossed her mind. She glitches a few inches above Ralph. "Glitching death from above!" she shouts before landing on his back with one of her hugs.

Everyone jumped at her sudden appearance as she tightened her grip around his neck. She glitches onto her favorite spot — which is where both she and Ralph felt she belonged. They both cast a grin before she addresses everyone else. "Sorry for the hold up guys. Rockhead decided he wanted to hold me after hours for a quick spar lesson between Taffyta and me. _That guy I swear,_" she mutters the latter without a hint of resentment. "So what's the game plan for today?"

Felix ponders for a few seconds. "Well, originally I was planning on us going to Game Oriental Station and do some game jumping in the computers, but that's a _long_ trip to and fro with going through the hardware so I'm going to say we should go to Game Boreal Station. I heard from the Mario Bros that Luigi has a game called _Luigi's Mansion_. Sounds like it would give us quite the relaxing place if you ask me. Might be a nice place to have a vacation. It's a Nintendo game after all," he punches the air in excitement. "Vacation eh? Hm, sounds great. Maybe it's like a resort where you get to play a bunch of minigames," Vanellope cheers in avidity.

* * *

The long trek didn't take as long as the day prior thanks to Ralph knowing a shorter way through GCS. The grand archway that lead to the northern frontier of the arcade was now in sight. Everyone took their seats in an awkward silence. Calhoun glances around, but doesn't find anything too out of the ordinary; though Ralph and Vanellope were surprisingly closer together than usual — if that were possible. They pulled into their terminal and scan their surroundings.

The female Surge Protector was chasing down a feral child with wild pink hair. The boy held a stolen piece of steak from _Order Up!_ He struggles in the grip of blue energy while throwing a temper tantrum towards the woman. They didn't know what gibberish he was sputtering on about, but they could clearly tell that he wasn't complimenting her. He starts to beat on his chest while the woman was trying to read him his punishment.

"GameCube's gate is a few gates down. We better hurry before that she-devil finds us," Ralph warns. "That's a bit extreme don't ya think?" Felix asks as they walk on. "_She'll make you miss our Surge,_" Vanellope mutters. "Ouch," Calhoun hisses in disbelief before taking a glance over her shoulder. "Uh-oh... Get the lead out and double time!" she warns before picking up pace. It doesn't take much convincing for everyone to book it in time to get through the gate.

Everyone takes a moment to catch their breath on the nearby wall inside the GameCube gate. Vanellope lets out a bit of a laugh as she finally steadies her breathing. The quartet looks around the place to find their way. Ralph taps a character wearing a spacesuit on the shoulder. The orange and red cladded character turns around. "Excuse me sir, where can we find Luigi's Mansion?" he asks. The human takes off their helmet to reveal themselves. "I'm a girl ya jarhead," she shakes her head. "Sorry, just hate when people always assume I'm a guy. It's the ninth gate on the right. Can't miss it," Samus replies before placing on her headgear.

Felix glances up at his wife. He couldn't say he was shocked considering that his wife was another example of a strong military woman in armor.

The walk into the game with mild curiosity. Flashlights materialize into their hands before exiting the tunnel. They cut on their flashlights as they observe the game. Distorted trees curve into frightening forms as the advance on into the game. The dysmorphic flora makes way for an eerie, large green estate. Lightning sails overhead as they take in the sight. "Well there goes our relaxation idea," Ralph states as they continue their walk towards the mansion. Felix offers an embarrassed smile as he opens the door.

They saunter into mansion to find a key lying in the middle of the _Foyer_. Calhoun cocks her gun before advancing into the room. She takes the key before looking around the room; obviously the door on the bottom of the stairway wasn't going to budge with all the metal barbs ensnaring it. They walk up the stairway and open the door to the _Parlor_. A golden specter jumps out of nowhere with a wicked cry of enjoyment. Tamora lets out a flurry of bullets, only for them to go through the ghost; who was mocking her attempts. "_You ectoplasmic piece of trash!_" she mutters until she notices a short man sucking the being into a vacuum cleaner.

The man dusts himself off before addressing the group. "Oh you must be from another game. I'm Professor Elvin Gadd, or you can call me E. Gadd," he introduces. Felix chuckles at the dry sense of humor. "Well since it's after hours, I'll spare you some of the cutscene and get on with the gameplay. As you can see this place is haunted with ghosts. I, of course, stay behind to keep these little buggers from getting out after hours to cause a ruckus. If you want to get anywhere in this game you will need one of my Poltergust 3000. If you'll follow me to my lab I'll equip you with them and send you on your merry way," Prof. E. Gadd instructs before leading them to his laboratory.

After a few moments of explaining the mechanisms behind the _Poltergust 3000_, the quartet adventures into the haunted mansion. Their dampened spirits of a vacation were quickly discarded once Ralph stumbles onto a couch, which sent a jubilee of various currencies across the room. "Holy mother load. Jack and pot!" Vanellope jumps up to gather the cash. "Who needs a vacation?" Calhoun pockets some of the coins. Felix shakes his head. "You know we're putting this stuff back when we're done playing, right guys?" he asks as he sucks the money into his vacuum. Everyone turns around to him with a quirked brow. "Don't be such a spoiled sport Felix. You heard Prof. E. Gadd. We need to collect the cash to get a good score," Ralph says as he gets onto his large feet. "I heard him, but that doesn't mean we can abuse the absurd amount of money we collect in the game. For one, it's stealing and two, bringing all this money back to GCS might mess with our station's currency equilibrium — and we don't need that," he states as he flashes an oncoming ghosts. Vanellope sucks the ghost into her vacuum. "I agree. Sugar Rush has been doing great, and I intend to keep it that way so I'll put whatever I get back," she grunts before making the final tug for the spirit into her vacuum. Calhoun rolls her eyes, but places a gentle hand down at his head. "You've got a good point. Always a good man, and an even greater politician." Ralph drops his jaw at his final ray of hope. "Oh come on, it's free money!" he groans.

Vanellope gives his hand a gentle squeeze before giving him a knowing look. Ralph lets out a sigh and drops the case that he knew he wasn't going to win. The pair walks ahead, subconsciously still holding hands. Calhoun glances over to her husband, but he just shrugs off the matter. They roam the mansion until they come across a long hallway with multiple doors. Each of them went up to a door. Calhoun noticed a pattern as they advanced towards the door; everyone was near a door with a mat except Vanellope. "Don't open that door!" she warns.

Vanellope freezes before turning to look over her shoulder. "What?" she asks. "Look around. All the doors except two have mats under them. It could be a trap," she states her hypothesis. Felix's face scrunches up as he gives a pondering look upward. "Let's check our _Game Boy Horror_ and see if it's on the map." They gather around Felix as he flips the device on. As Calhoun had suspected, the doors without the mats weren't on the game map. "Good call," Vanellope comments on her friend's vigilance. "You don't make it long in my game without a keen eye kiddo. Since these rooms needs a key and we only have one, why don't we just stick together? These small fries aren't that tough," Calhoun said before opening the opening the first door on the right.

"Oh my Land!" Felix shouts with wide eyes before scrambling back to the wall. "Well he's not adorable like the other ghosts," Vanellope says as she eyes the ghost man. "Look at this creepy son of a-" Ralph coughs to cut off Calhoun's potentially vulgar language. The man disappears once being spotted, but the chair clearly rocks to and fro. "Well this is going to be difficult. What do we do?" Ralph asks. "Spread out and look for clues. Programmers would leave some kind of hint to this."

Calhoun and Ralph took the bookshelves while Vanellope searched the nearby desk. Felix simply held his flashlight on the man, who Ralph discovered was named Neville. Calhoun skimmed through a book titled _Darkness is Their Cheese_ while Ralph read through _Book of Riddles_. Meanwhile Vanellope knocks on the desk until she bumps the chair. A _Speedy Spirit_ startles her before she takes action into capturing it. "_I'm starting to hate this game,_" she mutters loud enough for everyone to hear. "You're not afraid of a few ghosts now are you Vanellope?" Tamora chuckles in a teasing manner. The young racer sticks her tongue out towards the blonde marine.

"Found it! All we have to do is keep our backs to him and wait for him to lower his guard," Ralph says as he places the book back. Neville yawns before having his heart exposed to the group. Calhoun jumps into action with her vacuum before almost losing her grip. "Oh this one's got more kick than the others. Come to mama!" she laughs before reeling him in. The lights come on to reveal the treasure chest that contains another key.

* * *

Calhoun's face beams as the colors of the roaring flames erupted from her vacuum. "Fuck yeah! I love this game! This things blows **fiya**! Punch this ya pink dork!" she shouts as she continues her arson spree. "I don't think Tammy needs to be the wielder of the Fire Element Medal anymore — _or at least she should share,_" Vanellope mutters the latter as the commander enjoys the upgrade. "Well I'm not about to rain on her parade. After finding out what this game is really like, I thought she'd be the last to enjoy it here. Besides, we gave you the Water Element Medal and we're almost done with the... Look out!" Felix rolls away from a bomb coming from the Purple Bomber.

"This is getting ridiculous. Why did the lights have to go out? The ghosts have the run of the place," Vanellope complains before flashing another ghost. "Well I'd rather this than that fat guy again. I've heard of heartburn, but _that_ was taking things to another level," Ralph mutters as he evades an attack. He sucks in three ghosts that were unfortunately too close.

A phone ring chimes just down the hall. "What in tarnation is a phone doing ringing during a blackout. That's not even possible... right?" Ralph asks as they near the room. They come across three phones; the one in the middle continuing to ring. Everyone looks at each other. "I'll do it. Just make sure someone has a flashlight and vacuum ready if something jumps out," Vanellope says before answering the phone. Before she could even bring herself to greet whoever's on the line, her hazel eyes glance up to the top right corner of the _Telephone Room_. Her eyes grow wide as she drops the phone. "No way! I want to leave this game. Now!" she backs away until she hides behind Ralph. "I'm sure that it was just a glitch in the texture Vanellope. No need to spazz out that badly," Calhoun says as she picks up the phone and listens to the instructions. "Don't you tell me not to spazz out. What are the odds of a shadow being hung from a ceiling in a room that has phones that ring during a blackout? I know what I saw, and that's really jacked up considering this is a Nintendo game," she retorts. She felt a large hand pull her closer. Ralph offers her a smile. "I wouldn't worry about it too much Boogerface. No one's gonna hang ya if I have anything to say about it." Vanellope snorts before offering him an appreciative smile.

* * *

The group exits the game with small golden portraits of themselves as mementos of their adventure. Felix and Calhoun exchanged their portraits so that they could have something to remind them of each other while they were apart. Behind them Ralph and Vanellope exchanged their portraits as the idea didn't seem all that bad. Vanellope was staring off into the GameCube sub-region as she held the small frame close to her chest. "You okay?" she heard Ralph whisper to her. "Yeah. Just a little irritated that I let something like _ghosts_ get to me. Seems a little... kiddish to be afraid of a haunted house," she replies before glancing over to him. "I don't blame you for jumping at the shadow thing. Doubt it would work for someone like me. My weight might snap the rope," he smirks. Vanellope chuckles at the statement.

Up ahead Felix and Calhoun were having a conversation of their own, but their eyes were on their friends. "I think one of us should ask," the maintenance man says as he glances back at the laughing pair. "I don't think it's any of our business to pry. They didn't hound us about it," the astral marine's eyes remain up ahead as they head toward the port that would take them back to GCS. "Yeah, but it was obvious at that point. We _sparked_ on day one after all. I'm just going off of a hunch though." His eyes went forward as they waited for the train. "I'm just saying we shouldn't since we wouldn't want to deter them from it if they haven't."

The train ride back was around the same as the previous. Calhoun was eying the pair with expectation, but they seemed wrapped up in their own little bubble of conversation. Vanellope watched her from her peripheral, and came to a conclusion. Before anything could come of it, Felix proposed that they head to Tappers for a break before going to another game.

Sonic and the gang were in the corner of the bar with their drinks in hand. Shadow was going back and forth with his blue rival about different drinks and which tasted better between the two; this time they were on ginger beer and ginger ale. "Ginger beer is obviously the superior drink. It was there first and has a fine gingery taste; it doesn't need to be _carbonated_," Shadow smirks half-heartedly. "You got something to say to me?" Sonic grits his teeth into an agitated smile. "Look here you faker I didn't -" the black and red hedgehog rises to his feet. "Eh guys, we're off the clock. Can you two get off each other's throats for five seconds? Now you two kiss and make up," Rouge jumps in before things get too far. "Pfft, not in front of the fangirls in this arcade," Shadow mutters before sitting back down to sip on his cream soda. Everyone chuckles at the remark, as the feuding rodents blush a bit.

The small group ordered their drinks. Vanellope was sipping on her drink while eying the married couple, who was trying their best not to stare at them too often. It was never an awkward air with them so why now? It was starting to annoy her to say the least, and she was going to get to the bottom of it. "Is something wrong? It's like someone just sucked the air out of the room and we're holding our breaths just to conserve oxygen," she finally states. "Nothing in particular. Just doing some analyzing," the marine remarks as she casually downs the remainder of her drink. "Are you going to be ambiguous or are you going to share?" The black clad woman snickers a bit from her empty glance. "We don't have anything to share, but I think you two do." Felix admits as he catches the drink that was sliding down from Tapper.

Ralph glances over to Vanellope and gave her a shrug. Well, they were talking about telling them in the mansion so why not. "Well you are our best friends so I guess you guys have the right to know. Ralph and I are dating," she admits to see an ecstatic Felix busting dance moves onto the bar table tops. They look at each other while he continues his victory dance. "Ha! I knew it!" he fist pumps the air. "_Damn it! Ugh... I can't believe this. Why couldn't Wreck-It wait until later this week? I would have had it in the bag!_" Calhoun mutters as she pulls out her wallet. "Don't worry about paying Tammy. You can simply buy the entire bar a root beer for the celebration," Felix says as he sits back down. "Tapper can I open a tab," she asks, as she knew her wallet would be crying after tonight. The pieces started to click into place. "Hey wait a minute..." Ralph started out. "Did you guys make a bet on us dating?" Vanellope gawks in disbelief. "The nerve. What kind of friends are you?" the wrecker flabbergasts.

The married couple offers an apologetic look. "We didn't start it," Calhoun defends. "We just got a little hyped into the frenzy," Felix said as he watched Tapper pass out the round of drinks. "Speaking of which: hey everyone," Calhoun calls the bar to attention. The patrons of the bar look at the heroine. "They started dating last night," she states. Half of the bar shouted their huzzahs while the remainder banged their heads against the tables in grief.

Shadow cast a wicked smirk over to his counterpart. "Guess it's my lucky day! The doctor would love to hear about how much money you owe us hedgehog," he chuckles as he gets to his feet. "Oh come on Shad!" Sonic tries to stop him. The anti-hero runs out the bar to spread the word to the rest of the arcade while Sonic runs behind him to deny his claims.

"Unbelievable!" they state with a less than amused face. "I don't see why it seems like such a bad thing. Pretty much everyone in the arcade made a bet on you two. At least it shows you guys have their support," Felix says with a chipper tone. "The thing is, we're not really boyfriend-girlfriend. We're just going to see where things takes us so we're on that awkward border of the uncertainty stage and the official stage," Ralph says as he drinks his fourth root beer. "Why don't you two quite twiddling your thumbs and go out on a date then?" Tamora proposes as she signs a paper on her payment plan to the bar bill. "Hey that's a great idea. You should go on a date tomorrow. Get out there and test the waters," the short hero says as he beamed at the possibilities. Vanellope had nothing better to do aside from her parents giving her some royal grooming so she seemed up to it. "I have to help with Bad-Anon tomorrow though. Maybe I can try to get out early or something," the 8-bit wrecker says as he ponders a way to get out of his obligations. "Well if you can't, then we can always go the day after."

"A toast!" Felix holds his half full glass. Everyone bumped their glasses together. "I'll just have water after this one," Calhoun looks at the number of her large bill. The others laughed at her dismay, but it was all in good fun.

* * *

(**A/N:** A few things to explain. To all the people who have never played Luigi's Mansion, yes there is a shadow in the Telephone Room that looks like Luigi is hanging from the ceiling. You can only do this during the black out portion of the game. Some people say it was the remnant of the beta-version of the game which makes the game have a darker tone than what you would expect from a Nintendo game or it's just a glitch in the texture because of the camera angle. I don't know which is true, but I thought it would be fun to add.

Another thing to note is the term _spark_ which will be used a bit often as the fic progresses. Every game character, regardless of programmed age appearance, knows what _sparking_ is. It's a physical manifestation of love. Characters are made of code, which can be compatible with other codes so they can bear children. If their codes are compatible and they're attracted to each other they might experience _the spark_, which could be displayed in various ways. In Tammy and Felix's case, it was with the hearts so they've experience their spark. The spark only happens to those who are truly compatible/love each other and it only happens once in a character life as well.

Wanted to add some Ghostbuster jokes in here since there were bits in Luigi's Mansion that paid a bit of homage to the movies, but I felt I wouldn't be able to give it justice so I skipped out on it. Sorry. Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and I'll have the second part up as soon as I finish it. Just a few more pages and it's good to go.)


	12. How Deep Is Your Love

**Disclaimer:** "Wreck-It Ralph" and all characters related to the movie belong to The Walt Disney Company, and/or their respective gaming companies. Wreck-It Ralph was created by Rich Moore, Phil Johnston, and Jim Reardon. Level Up! and any characters not associated in their own respective franchise belong to Berserkeroo. All rights reserved.

(**A/N:** Bee Gees! Enough said! Well not really. I think this chapter was well worth the wait. A little game inaccuracy, but I think you guys won't mind. Also, I had way more fun writing this chapter than I think is socially acceptable, and Calhoun's going to kill me. XD

Another thing to note is that I've tried to incorporate some fanon theories in the story. The one most notable in this chapter is that all SR characters know Japanese, or in some cases _Bonin English_, so give me some credit for researching fan theories and seeing if you guys like it. _Watashi no nihongo ha sukoshi arakezuri desu._ **English translation:** My Japanese is a little rough around the edges. So put up with it since it won't be used often in the story. There are other fanon theories I've added, and I hope you guys enjoy them. Without further delay, here's the chapter.)

* * *

Two sabres collide in a competition between the father-daughter pair. Meanwhile, the mother was giving a review on the royal lineage of Sugar Rush. Vanellope contorts her body to the right to barely evade the weapon. "Focus! Keep your shoulders up," Candy says as the weapons clash again. She takes his advice and goes in on the offensive to try to strike, but her old man was quick on his feet. "Let's review: what can you tell me about Queen Chary I," Confection asks as she watches the display. She lifts up a picture of a woman with vibrant red hair holding the Sugar Rush scepter in her hand.

Vanellope waits until after her dad strikes so that she could parry his sword away to take a sneak peek at the image. "Uh, Queen Chary, Queen Chary..." she mutters until the knowledge comes to mind. "Right! Queen Chary is the second wife of King Savor and creator of the execution system of Sugar Rush. Mastermind behind the fungeon in the castle, the gaillows in the courtyard, and the giddytine in the former capitol — York. She was in line to be one of the princesses courted by Savor, but she was overshadowed by her older sister who married him instead," she almost hits her dad in the chest, but he deflected her sabre. "Her jealousy drove her to assassinate her sister thus leaving room to be a substitute. Because Savor and Eclaire sparked he only had eyes for her. In her outrage, Chary started executing people left and right for the smallest of crimes, which made her nephew — Brockbirn — rebel and take the throne. Ironically, she was beheaded by her own giddytine."

Candy left himself open for her to attack him, which was a sign that she could take a break. "At least we know you're paying attention Vanny," he compliments her on her knowledge of the kingdom's backstories. "Just because I want to do things differently doesn't mean I'm going to neglect my heritage. Thank gumdrops that we came from Brockbirn instead of that psycho or the racers might have thought I was serious about when I said I would execute them," she snickers at the memory.

There was a knock before Sour Bill entered the room. "A few of your friends would like to see you Miss von Schweetz," he says in his usual dry tone. _Well she was on break._ Three racers walk into the room; two of which were in a heated argument. She glances over to Candlehead about why Snowanna and Taffyta are fighting. "It's about yesterday..." she got out before Taffyta decided to make her fury known. "These two just decide to play matchmaker without me, that's why I'm mad! How could you not invite me?" she hisses towards the snow racer. "And let that opportunity go? Are you crazy?! You should be happy that they're finally dating," Snowanna states. "I not just happy, I'm exhilarated!" she shouts back.

"What are these two going on about in the _throne room_," Confection says loud enough to snap the bickering girls to immediate silence. "Sorry ma'am," they chorused. Vanellope offers a half-smile to her suspicious father. "Ralph and I decided we wanted to try dating. Surprise," she looks in the opposite direction. "_Now I understand your outrage_," the queen mutters to Taffyta. Candy didn't react how his wife or daughter would expect. "Oh that's nice," he says with an unreadable look. "Who are you, and what have you done with my father?" she asks suspiciously. "What? Can't I be semi-reasonable at certain times?"

"Not when it comes to boys and Vanellope," Confection retorts, which caused the other girls to snicker. "Well can I push your rationality and say that we're planning on going on a date later on today?" Vanellope asks. Her friends shriek in whimsical joy at the announcement. "Sure." His wife and daughter did a double take at him. "You said _sure_? No _over my Game Over_ or _not until you're thirty_?" The king held a smile over the statement. "Of course not."

Taffyta grabs Vanellope by the shoulder. "If that's the case, then you won't mind us helping her get ready for her date," the girls drag her away from her lesson. "Don't forget we have a luncheon with the other game princesses!" Confection reminds Vanellope before she disappears behind the salmon doors. Her eyes shift over to Candy. "You're going to spy on their date, aren't you?" she states more than asks. "Gosh darn it. You know me so well sugar cakes," he snaps his fingers in defeat. "That's the power of the spark bubala," she winks at him.

* * *

Not much earlier Ralph was orchestrating the Bad-Anon meeting that day. He recommended that they get to know their fellow bad guys a little better with a bit of game jumping. To the enjoyment of everyone, they went into Game Oriental Station. The trip through the mechanics and hardware was a bit difficult with the amount of characters in attendance; Beholder was caught in the wire congestion when their data was being transferred, but it didn't dampen their spirit. Overall, their experience was a success. His co-counselor notices that he was a bit distracted. "Is something troubling you Ralph?" Clyde asks as he supervised the other antagonists in his peripheral.

Ralph sits at one of the tables near a restaurant in The Sims. "As glad as I am that everyone is having a good time, and Coily getting to know more bad guys, I was hoping that I could leave early," he says as he sips on the cherry juice he ordered from the nearby establishment. Curious, Clyde decides to prod on the subject. "You know you're free to leave early just like everyone else. Is there any reason in particular?" the ghost villain asks. The wrecker doesn't even bother beating around the bush since practically the whole arcade made bets on the issue. "I was going to see about taking Vanellope out on a date. We're not official, so we want to test the waters," he says as he finishes off his drink.

Clyde titters at his colleague. "I've been able to manage Bad-Anon alone for twenty-five years Ralph, so I don't think one day will be the end of me," he replies. "You might want to pick out some clothes since we're already here in The Sims. They're quite nice here," he continues as he looks at the nearby mall area. The larger villain pondered the suggestion; he didn't want to change himself since he promised Vanellope that things wouldn't be different, but he did want to show that he was interested in the relationship. "Alright," he concludes before walking off into the mall area. "_Good luck Ralph_," Clyde whispers as he watches him leave.

* * *

Ralph enters into his game for a moment to brush his teeth and take a shower. He had to put his best foot forward after all. His hair was still wet after a bit of towel drying, but he could leave it to naturally dry. He halfway buttoned up a sleeveless russet colored jacket over a fern green shirt. The towel used to dry his hair rests on his shoulders as a precaution. He gave himself a final inspection down to his dark washed jeans. Of course he didn't wear any shoes so he held some form of comfort in that sense. The young wrecker threw the towel off his shoulders when he figured his hair was dry enough that it wouldn't drip on his clothes. The only thing left was to go to Sugar Rush and pick up Vanellope.

On his way out of his game, two figures hid in the foliage. "I can't believe you've talked me into this Tammy," Felix sighs as he watches his friend leave for his date. "Silent soldier. I may have lost money because of those two, but they're still my closest comrades. We've got to make sure that this operation goes off without a hitch," Calhoun whispers as they stealthily follow close behind the villain. "Didn't take you for a matchmaker hon," the hero says. "I'd hit you with that hammer of yours for that remark. Too bad it wouldn't do anything though," she grumbles as they stand wait in the distance outside Sugar Rush. "Aren't we going to follow?"

The commander shakes her head to disavow. "No. We wait out here. This is their first date. Chance is that they're going to go elsewhere. We'll watch for when they come out."

Back in Sugar Rush, the game's princess glared at her exuberant friends. "_I might use the notes from today's lesson on you girls for this,_" she mutters as she gives herself a final look in the mirror. "You said you liked this one! This is the thirteenth one we've went through. Don't make us arrange another outfit," Taffyta said as she looked at the pile of clothes strewn on the floor. "No one said you had to pick my clothes for me. I could have found something myself for crying out loud," Vanellope blows a stray hair out of her face. _At least that stayed the same._ "Yeah, but don't you want to look good for your boyfriend," Candlehead says as she thinks of a certain biker. "He's not my boyfriend. _At least not yet anyways,_" she mutters the latter. "And with an attitude like that, he's not going to be. You've got to at least show him that you're interested in dating him or he might go to another lady," Taffyta warns. "Yeah Vanellope. Ralph's kind of hot in his upgrade. If I didn't like Zangief, that man could wreck my dancefloor all he wants," Snowanna shivers before she goes off into a fantasyland with the two muscular men in tow. "TMI Snow..." the green haired girl says as her face and candle heats up.

"Oh come on Candlehead, don't tell me that you've never thought of Almondandro that way," Taffyta says as she chuckles at her embarrassment. "Uh not really. We're still trying to get to know each other a little better, but I won't say it's never came across my mind," the birthday themed racer admits. "All of you are so shameless," Vanellope says while rolling her eyes. Everyone chuckles as they continue on with their _girl talk_ until they heard a knock at the door. Sour Bill shuffled into the room as soon as he was given permission to enter. "Miss von Schweetz, Wreck-It Ralph is waiting outside to pick you up," he says with a less monotonic way than usual.

Vanellope gulps before waving her friends off. "Wish me luck," she says before leaving them. The trio looks at each other with a knowing look. "We're going to be doing more than wishing aren't we?" Candlehead says more than she asks. "Pfft, you know it," Snowanna confirms.

Outside the castle, a nervous wrecker twiddles his thumbs behind his back as he rocks on his feet. He notices that door starting to open slowly. He had to wait a few minutes before his basic programming had to remind him to breathe. She walks up to him with a semi-nervous smile as he takes in her image. "You look nice," she says as she analyzes his clothing. "Uh, you too..." He coughed before an awkward air could surround them. _Things weren't supposed to be different_ he reminded himself as they made eye contact. "So lets start our date. We'll go anywhere you want."

Vanellope ponders his proposition. "Candlehead did say there was this game in GBS that has a theme park and a carnival," she offers. "Sounds good to me. Shall we," he extends his arm only to receive a raspberry from her. She clicks a button on her keys. The Clusterbuster swerves in front of its creators. "Roxas may want me walking, but it's a date and I don't think I want to push walking in these shoes," she remarks with a look towards her heeled white boots. Ralph looks at the car and lets out a puff of air. "_Of all things..._" The couple enters the car and embarks on their way to GBS.

On the outside of Sugar Rush's gate, Calhoun and Felix wait with a bored expression until they see Vanellope's car zoom through the station. "Holy Toledo," Felix jumps into the embrace of his wife as they watch the car speed off in the distance. "We aren't going to be able to catch her. We don't even know where the date is," he continues. "Not on my watch," Calhoun activates her hoverboard and hops on. Her husband quickly steadies himself on the board because he knew that the board could hit high speeds if desired. He holds onto her leg with all his might as the wind resistance stretches his face out.

The married couple slows down as they follow the car through the tunnels to Game Boreal Station. "I wonder where they're going?" Felix mutters as they slowly fly above the observant Surge Protector. "_She hasn't even stopped us and I've got a feeling she's a pain in the ass..._" Calhoun thinks before following them into the Wii gate. The couple passes by a few gates in the region. To the marine's vexation she spotted the game _Call of Duty_, but that could wait for a later day.

They made quick work of hiding in the game _Carnival_. The experienced commander took out a pair of binoculars to find the pair parking the large vehicle in the game's parking lot. She was impressed that the game was that thorough.

Two silhouettes blend in with the alleyway as they eye their target; the couple seemed more relaxed now that they were at their destination. This didn't go unnoticed by the secret matchmakers. "_What do you think: an ambush?_" Calhoun asks as she tries to get a better visual with the scope on her gun. "_Possibly. That candy woman at the beach sure did sound convincing. What do we do? If this is a threat, they could be in real trouble. They could Game Over!_" Felix starts to panic as he watches the couple stand in line for a ride. "I need to get closer. I won't make the shot. I've only got espionage gear and a few close range weapons," she says as she eases towards the alley. Felix was close behind his beloved with his fists ready. After receiving the signal from her, they both charge in ready to take the two figures down.

Felix was punched in his nose faster than he could hit the corner into the alley. He held his nose as he took in the image of King Candy and Queen Confection holding their hands up as a red dot adored their foreheads. "That's the second time you've pointed a gun at me Blondie! I'm starting to question who my girl socializes with," the queen glares at the gunwoman. "Well I see where Vanellope gets her snark from," the marine comments before lowering her gun. "What are you doing here?"

"We could ask you two the same thing," Candy replies with his own suspicion. "We asked first, and I'm the one with the gun," Calhoun twirls her gun in her hand for emphasis. "Fine, fine... We're spying on Vanellope's date. When we heard about it, I just had to follow to see if she's picked a good young man to court her. I'm very touchy on who's involved with my girl ya know," the king explains. "I don't have many doubts since we both like Ralph and he seems like a nice boy, but I just want to make sure that things go perfect. This is Vanny's first date after all," the mother says with a bit of reminiscence.

"Fair enough," the tall mercenary says as she pulls out two spare walkie-talkies. "I'll take point by air, Felix will take point from the horizontal axis and, you two will take point as closely as possibly. I don't think I need to remind you to remain unseen," she comments as she kicks the clutch at the base of her board. The hoverboard comes to life as she slowly ascends into the air. "Lets move out."

Vanellope and Ralph make it into their seats to enjoy the ride. "It may not be as fast as my car, but hopefully it can be just as fun," she comments as the safety bar locks them in place. "You forget that this thing has some pretty high drops," Ralph reminds her before the ride clocks in at 126 MPH and undulates three moderate sized slopes. They were making a slow ascension into the air. "See Ralph, that wasn't so ba-" Both of them cling to each other tightly as the ride swiftly drops from the colossal height.

Below the screaming pair, three mascots watch as the ride continues its course. Taffyta and Snowanna look at Candlehead with a hint of contempt. "Well we needed camouflage and what's better than a mascot," she explains with a grin. "Maybe the camouflage is a little too good considering that we've only been here for five minutes as we've been taking pictures with a bunch of characters and their families," Taffyta replies as she watches out for more children. "I say we ditch the costumes and just hide in the bushes or something," Snowanna suggests. The three debate the matter until they notice their targets moving to another portion of the park. "Get the lead out."

The racers follow the couple until they notice their king hiding behind a newspaper with a mustache and large glasses. "Your Majesty, that's a bad disguise," one of the mascots says as they sit next to the man. "Blonde Fox, my cover has been blown," he says in a walkie-talkie. "Mother fu-... How in Sector 12 was your cover blown? I see them just fine... wait. Who are those people next to you?" Calhoun's voice comes from the small device. "I'm going to guess they're some of Vanny's friends from our game considering they're calling me _Your Majesty,_" he responds. "What are you girls doing here?"

"The same thing that you and apparently, Sgt. Calhoun and probably Felix are doing," Snowanna says as they watch the couple head over to the zoo area of the game. "Hm. We've got more eyes... Regroup near the circus tent and we'll get you guys geared up for _Operation: Jawbreaker._"

"Roger that."

* * *

A giraffe lowers its head to be on level with the sugar princess who extended her palm up to feed it some of the leaves given to her by one of the keepers. She rubs the creature's muzzle as it finishes off the remainder of the leaves. "This is kind of cool. I wish the programmers would have put a giraffe in our game, well at least one that's not an animal cracker. They're not furry," she says as it nuzzles her palm. She stole a glance at Ralph who seemed to have attained unwanted attention from an elephant that kept trying to eat his hair. "Eh back off big nose," he ducks away from its trunk. "I think the tigers are nearby. Lets see those before I end up bald." Vanellope gives him a pouncing hug as she roars like the ferocious feline. "You're so scary," he feigns fear as she settles onto his shoulder. "Watch it. Kitty's got claws. Meowr!" she claws at his cheeks with her freshly manicured fingernails.

The roar of the solitary big cat echoes from a nearby cage. "Found it." The majestic creature prowls its cage while its fellow felines tend to their own business; be it grooming themselves or sleeping. A cub emerges from its mother's embrace and imitates the fearsome roar of its father. "Kawaii kotora," she looks at the cub with fascination. "What about Hawaii?" the wrecker asks with confusion. "I said kawaii not Hawaii. I was basically saying that the tiger cub was cute," she says with a smile. Ralph remembers her mentioning something about everyone in Sugar Rush being able to speak Japanese to him when she was younger, but he's never heard her speak it until now. "Ignore me when I get like that. It's my native programming syncing with my audio. It comes at the strangest of times, _just like when I'm with my bishounen kareshi,_" she mutters the latter loud enough for him to hear. "And what does that mean?" Ralph asks. "That's for me to know and you to find out," she teases while walking away. "How's that fair?" Vanellope noted a perk that she liked that came with dating: _teasing boyfriends is a great pleasure that needs to be exploited._

King Candy was struggling against his wife's restraint from their current position. Clearly she didn't want him to confront the two. "_Bishonen... kareshi?! You're not supposed to like icky boys Vanny. You're supposed to think they look gross, not... **that**! You should be with daddy. I should be the one escorting her at the carnival and buying all the candy she wants. Coni why does she have to like boys so soon?"_ he cries as he bites into a handkerchief that he pulled from his coat pocket. Confection offers him a sympathetic pat on his back while he rants in _Bonin English_. "If you don't pull yourself together the whole operation will be exposed. Do you want me to phone in so you can quit or can we continue?" she asks as his sniffling quiets down. "No, I'm good... We can continue," he says as he watches the couple advance to another part of the game.

Ralph leads her by hand to the booths where there were several carnival games. They start off with a water gun game, which involved them going against a few children and other couples. Just as Vanellope was about to claim her victory, she glances towards the miniature rifle range game and for a second, she thought she saw someone who looks like Felix playing the game; _but Felix doesn't have black hair nor would he be caught dead or alive in that attire._ Her minor distraction leads to the couple on the far right of the booth winning the prize. "Oh great."

They head off towards another game until they come across the _kissing booth_. The guy at the booth rips the price tag off. "Free of charge," he wags his brows. Ralph was naturally slow to violence, but at that moment he wanted nothing more than to break the bones of the man in the booth. Before he could even get a word out, Vanellope was already lashing out at the guy. "Can't you see I'm on a date ya creep," she snaps. The brunette male scoffs in indignation. "I resent that comment. Being called a creep and freak is quite offensive here hon. Besides I wasn't talking to you sweetie, I was talking to big, tall, and handsome over there," the male informs as he makes a kissy face towards the auburn villain. Both of them blush. Obviously neither of them saw that one coming. "I'm a very _flexible_ man," the booth operator grins in triumph. "Go blow it out your ear! Don't go flirting with my man. Now make like_ Michael Jackson's Moonwalker_ and Beat It!" To say the least, Ralph was impressed at Vanellope standing her ground and making such strong claims halfway through their date.

"That's my baby! Give that bozo the ol' one, two," Confection shadow boxes as she watches on with pride. "Confection, you know that that's not appropriate for a princess," Candy scolds, though he was better at hiding his pride. "Yeah, but unlike Vanny, I wasn't born into royalty," she states with a smirk.

Vanellope walks over to the high striker game and decides to vent her agitation on the game in hopes of getting one of the prizes. She wonders if she could probably get the plushie that reminds her of the cute tiger cub. The mallet slams onto the platform, sending the puck three-fourths of the way up the tower, but it didn't strike the bell. "Sorry lil' miss. Maybe next time; but you can still pick from some of the smaller prizes," the operator says as he shows off the display of little trinkets. She picks out a novelty squishy toy. Ralph twirls the mallet in hand. Sure hammers were Felix's tool of trade, but this mallet wasn't used for fixing. With one hand, he swings down onto the platform — instantly breaking it on contact — and sending the puck soaring up the tower and knocking the bell clean off the tower. The operator watches with a dropped jaw as neither the puck nor bell have yet to plummet back down to the ground. "Great Ferris wheel mister," the worker mutters as he points to the first place prizes.

Like the game operator, Vanellope was watching the sky for when/if the puck or bell would come down. She admired Ralph for his strength, even as a kid when he broke the jawbreaker in half, but she felt her heart skip a beat. Something taps her on the shoulder; her date was trying to get her attention after the first failed attempt of calling her name. "I didn't want anything from up here, but I know you were going for something on the upper rung. You can pick whatever you want," he says as he looks away with his pockets in his jeans. She smirks at his nonchalance. She already knew which one she wanted, but teasing him wouldn't hurt. "I don't know. All of them look so boring in comparison to this big, sweet gummy bear next to me," the president winks at the villain. "Just pick one..." Ralph tries to hide his blush. Vanellope sticks her tongue out at the crimson bad guy. "Killjoy," she says before picking out the life sized tiger cub.

In the air, Calhoun presses the button on the side of her walkie-talkie. Her eyes were on the chatting couple below. "This is Blond Fox. I need all airways open and eyes vigilant. Do you read me?" she states in her business voice. "This is Blue Rooster, I read ya loud and clear sunshine. I have a visual on the targets from five meters away. Green Monkey and Pink Panther should have a direct visual near the booths. We're just waiting for Peach Puma, Salmon Lion, and Arctic Bunny to report their current position," Felix says with his usual eagerness. "Salmon Lion reporting in from the cotton candy booth. Just making the record known that I'm going to kill that boy if he screws up," King Candy vowed as he hides behind his sugary treat. "Pfft. Get in line Your Highness," Snowanna scoffs. "Quit wasting my batteries on threats or I'm taking my gear away!" the mercenary barked. "I agree. Just shut it and let them have their fun. They're doing fine on their own for the most part, and we've barely had to do anything. Peach Puma, signing in from the game booths," Confection says before making a glance towards where the couple was.

"Wait... I've lost visual," the saccharine queen says as she scans for them. "Me too. Where did they go?" Calhoun asks as he looks around. "I see them. They're near the entrance to the circus. For some reason, Ralph doesn't look too keen on going in," Candlehead says as she watches Vanellope leads the reluctant wrecker in. Felix went into a bout of hysterics as he fell over himself. He received an assortment of odd glances from everyone on the airway. "What's got you so tickled?" Snowanna asks. "It's an inside joke. Ignore me," the repairman replies as he steadies his breathing. "Everyone, we're moving in. Stay in the shadows and don't get caught," the commander states as she dismounts her board.

Just as the ragtag espionage troop entered the circus, the patrons in the stands were shouting their outrage and the fleeing ringmaster. He runs into Calhoun, who looked as pleased as the crowd did. "Please don't hit me lady. It's not my fault," the man in the black top hat pleads as he covers his face. "I'm not going to pound your face in. Well I might unless you tell me why the crowd is in an uproar," she threatens. "Its my performers. Some of them were injured during opening hours because of a clumsy player and now we have no show. I was so busy sending them to Dr. Mario, that I didn't put forth a notice that the show was cancelled and now the people want my head!" he starts to cry on the floor. "This blows. What are we going to do? Ralph and Vanny are a part of the audience too. Aw, this date is going to tank!" Taffyta pulls on the ends of her precious long locks. "Maybe it won't be that bad... They can probably do something else, right?" Felix tries to rationalize. "Who comes into this game without trying to see the circus?" Candlehead says with a disagreeing look towards the blue clad man. "Good point..."

Calhoun knew she would hate herself for what she was thinking, and she made a vow to be the cause of any character's Game Over if anyone ever spoke of this day. She even rationalized that Vanellope and Ralph would do the same to try to make herself feel better. "What acts were injured in the gameplay?" she asks without looking at her uncoordinated team. "You're not thinking of..." a gun was pointed at Snowanna before she could even finish that statement. "Shut it before I tell the brats outside that your hair is really a snow cone!" she vows with a death glare. Everyone gulps with tightly pressed lips. The ringleader licks his lips before answering the woman; lest he desired her wrath. As soon as the acts were listed, everyone smacked their head with great dismay.

Taffyta huffs at her bangs before making a quick trip to Sugar Rush. A few stray looks went to Confection. "_We've barely had to do anything _she says... This is going to suck!" Snowanna huffs. "_What are you complaining about? You're already in a rainbow afro,_" Calhoun mutters. The ringmaster makes a run for the center ring to make the announcement that the show will continue in a short matter of time.

Vanellope glances at Ralph. "Huh, wonder why they had a sudden change of heart?" she asks. "Your guess is as good as mine. As the saying goes; the show must go on," he replies.

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages..." the ringmaster says with great gusto. "I introduce to you, the famous...** Circa de Maravillas**!"

The circus tent goes completely dark as the spotlights dance across the excited crowd. The sounds of engines roar over the cheers of the audience. Music slowly fades over the engines and soon, the show starts. A man in a ninja mask rides along the walls as a vibrant gradient of purple sparks trail behind his bike. Seven other bikers tip a salute to the audience before riding down their respective ramps. Each doing a backflip on their bikes as they land in a slowly emerging crystalline ball. The first biker makes a leap from one side of the audience to the other, landing on the slim metal railing that was right in front of Vanellope and Ralph. The red eyed biker casts a salute to the couple before playfully winking at the black haired president. Before they could think too much on it, the man does a dramatic backflip that lands him on his ramp. He takes his rightful place and makes a front flip into the _globe of death_. With eight bikers in the crystalline sphere the the globe reflects neon lights; heralding the explosive force of the confetti.

Falling from the top of the circus tent, a masked blond does an assortment of front flips before landing in a tank of water before signaling a water performance. She arises out of the pool to casts a wave to the audience while five other performers spurt water around her. Sharks were then released as the swimmers perform water aerobics around the briny predators while avoiding their sharp teeth. Before long they mount the large carnivores and dance upon their snouts.

Three female horseback riders come charging out on pink and white horses. Each of them dance sensuously in their belly dancer costumes while standing on the horses' backs, as multicolored lights reflect from the crystalline globe of death, and onto their jeweled masks and glittered skin. Eight clowns enter from the shadows and roll about on balls around the horses. Vanellope does a double take, as she thought she saw her parents as two of the _rolling globe_ clowns. She examines closely as the two clowns pull out diabolos and continue their balancing act. "_Nah. My dad may dress a little goofy, but my mom would murder a man if she had to wear that getup,_" she dismisses the thought before her eyes are glued onto the _Roman ladder_ act. The three males at the heart of the latter slowly push out as six females strike dangerous poses on the outside of the ladder. Two of the female acrobats stretch out while two smaller ones stand on their shoulders. Ralph nudges her in the side. "Don't ever tell Calhoun I said this, but does that acrobat holding the smaller one look like her to you?" he asks. "I thought the same thing about some of the clowns on the balls, but come on, my parents wouldn't be caught dead in those outfits, and whoever saw Sarg in that outfit would **be** dead," she says. "Good point. Considering how many game characters are in this crowd, it would be a massive genocide to the arcade." The outer rim of the Roman ladder performers dispersed into the shadows as a multicolor cannon was brought out.

Felix was trying to make a mad dash away from the infernal mechanical monstrosity, but he couldn't get far in his large clown shoes. "I changed my mind, I'll be on the Roman ladder!" he panics as his wife grabs him by his frilly collar and puts him in the cannon. "Too late. All of us have already embarrassed ourselves and the cannon was the only act left. Now be a man Fix-It and don't back down! Do what I did and go to your _happy place_ and think that those two would do the same for us," Tamora said as she examined her tight blue outfit. "_By the gods of the arcade I hate myself for being so optimistic,_" she scornfully thought. The temporary acrobat lights the fuse. One of the clowns nearby receives a call from another performer. "What do you mean the inflation bag isn't up yet?!" he yells. Felix gulps before making a silent prayer. "_**Tammy!**_" his cry fades out as he's shot through the hole of the tent. Fireworks trickle above the crowd in wonder before fading into faint golden embers.

Five males spiral downward from the dark recesses of the tent on pastel colored straps before being whisked over the crowd to perform their interpretive dance. "Did that guy just call out for Tammy?" Vanellope asks as she looks at the fading silhouette of the short clown. "Don't know. Couldn't hear it over the explosion. I thought he was crying for his mommy or something," Ralph chuckles. To the relief of the diminutive man the bag inflates at the last second before he lands. His heart was hammering in his chest. "I want to do that again!" he cheers before briefly passing out.

By this point, even Ralph was ensnared in the cheering frenzy that the other circus goers was giving the performers. The clowns and horseback riders were still captivating the audience. The horses leap from their rising platform onto the springed platforms, leaving their riders to tantalize the crowd with their enticing dance movements on the sessile pillars. Meanwhile the clowns balance in place on the rising columns before rolling down a spiraling slope. The water performers rise from a spring as a pyramid, before landing back into the pool; making a splash large enough to soak most of the audience.

* * *

Ralph ruffles his hair dry as they leave from the circus tent. He looks at his shirt. He laughs at the irony of his earlier attempt to keep his shirt dry; despite this small fault he enjoyed the show. Clearly Vanellope had enjoyed the show as she was relaying her favorite parts of the performance. He smiles at her enthusiasm because that's all that he felt mattered. "_Best first date ever,_" he thought. He makes a quick suggestion for them to grab something to eat and watch the lake before heading home. Vanellope thought it was a little sappy considering who she's on a date with, but Ralph had always been a guy who liked secluded, silent places. "Eh, all right. Clusterbuster can just pick us up here and I can drive us back." Ralph's mouth pressed together at that statement.

They walk to the lake with their corn dogs in hand and enjoy the chilling night atmosphere. Little did they know, they were _still_ being watched. Felix was draped over his wife's shoulder since he was still unconscious from his life-threatening stunt. Snowanna tapped his cheeks to see if he would respond. His tongue lolled out of his mouth as he made a few slurred noises. Candlehead was going on about how much she actually enjoyed dancing in front of the crowd. Confection glances over to the couple; apparently a brood of stray ducklings flocked to the couple. Vanellope seemed content with scratching a few of the ducklings on their crowns. "I don't think we're needed anymore. I think literally jumping through hoops, and playing secret agent is enough," she glances over to her husband, "Plus I don't think Candy can take anymore of this," Candy's eyes water as the distant pair seemed like they were in their own little world. "_Vanny..._" he sniffles. "You're probably right. I don't think anyone is going to attack and I have a husband to take home," she pats him on the head. "I think we can say Operation: Jawbreaker was a success. You're all dismissed," Calhoun jumps on her board and gives everyone a salute before making her departure.

The couple nearby the lake didn't notice the silhouettes of their friends making their departure. Vanellope was more focused on listening to what Ralph had to say. Apparently ducks had always had a fondness of him, especially in his game. "I think its probably because we're both, you know, _bad guys_," Ralph nibbles on the remnant of his corn dog as he takes in the atmosphere of the lake. Vanellope shifts forward to look at the somewhat distant look in his eyes.

"Hey Ralph, are you okay?" she asks as she waves her hand a few inches from his face. "Huh, oh yeah, I'm fine," he replies, but apparently his date wasn't going to buy into it. "Something I've noticed about you Ralph: you're a big softie and a terrible liar. Fess up," she says in a tone that clearly meant that she wasn't taking no for an answer. The young wrecker took a sigh before looking at her. "I'm just wondering why you're interested in... a bad guy," he admits. Vanellope snorts as she rolls her eyes at the statement. "Ralph, just because you're a bad guy doesn't mean you're a _bad guy_. You're one of the nicest characters I've ever met," she says as she places her hands on his much larger ones. Vanellope eyes him over with puzzlement. _What was so hard about seeing himself the way she saw him?_ Her eyes widened. "Cheez-Its Ralph, what did you do; murder someone?!"

Ralph's eyes immediately snap over to her. "What? No!" he shakes his head. "Then what is it?" she gazes into his chocolate brown eyes. "Well I can't forgive myself for what I did to you," he admits. Vanellope's face crumples up in confusion as she tries to think of anything that he could have done to her. _Well he drank her root beer yesterday at Tapper's, but that's nothing to feel like a villain for. Heck, she stole a few of his root beers here and there too, but she didn't feel evil._ "Oh don't make me say it," he sighs. She quirks her ebony brow at him. "I still feel bad about wrecking your kart," he finally confesses. "Ralph that was a year ago. I already forgave you for that when you returned for me in the fungeon," she replies. "You might, but I just... can't. You looked so... _crushed_," he bites his lips at the word.

Vanellope tightens her grip on his hand. "I can't be mad at you over that, because you were trying to protect me. I surely can't be mad at dad either, because Turbo hijacked his code," she glances over to the ducklings that encircled the villain's large feet. "Look at that," the racer points over to the mother duck watching them nearby. "If you were really a bad guy, would a mother let you near her offspring?" she asks him. "Well... no," he replies with a shrug. "Then you're not as bad as you make yourself out to be," she blushes as she continues on. "Do you honestly think I would befriend a bad person, let alone have that same person become so close to me that he could break through my defenses, and read me like a book?" Ralph looks at her as he saw the heat spread from her face to her neck. "Do you really mean that?" At that moment, Vanellope wished she had her hoodie so she could slip it over her head and pull the laces to conceal her face. "Of course I do."

She feels a gentle yet firm grip on her hand. Her eyes dart over to the source; Ralph was holding her hand. Vanellope offered him a smile, which he returned in kind.

* * *

The brown and pink car skids to a stop in front of the gate to _Fix-It Felix Jr.: Extended_. Vanellope springs out of her car as Ralph makes his way over to the gate. "I wouldn't mind you driving back to your game and seeing you in. I can always walk back you know," he offers. "Nah, that's too traditional for a tough girl like me. I think I'll manage," she replies. "_And you really thought you act like a bad guy?_" Vanellope mentally chuckles, though she made a note to pay more attention to him from now on. "Alright. If you insist," Ralph shrugs, but before he knew it, a bundle of blue pixels jump in front of him. His eyes bulge when he feels a pair of soft, supple lips encompassing his. He raises a colossal hand to cup her cheek before returning the kiss. His other hand slithered to the arch of her back; pressing her closely to his firm abdomen. Vanellope jolts at the sudden movement, but quickly relaxes in his embrace. For a moment, they lost all sense of time, but it didn't matter until they pulled apart.

Ralph looks down at Vanellope, with smoldering eyes. The young brunette glances back at him with the same lascivious gaze, but snapped back to the reality that they were still in GCS. She clears her throat before stating, "I, uhm, better get home. I'm probably pushing my dad's rationality as it is. So... same time tomorrow?" Clearly the gargantuan man had no quandary with the question since he replied with such positive zeal.

Vanellope enters her car before fist pumping the air. Both of them could obviously state one thing. "_Best. Date. Ever!_"

* * *

(**A/N:** Je. Sus! DX *jumps out of way of laser bullets* *hides behind large rock* Okay, so I was right when I said Calhoun was going to kill me for this chapter, but I think it's worth it. *laser whizzes though hair* *looks up at scorched blue locks* Great... Well since I'm getting shot at here, can you guys leave some reviews and tell me what ya think? Much appreciated. Another note for you guys: _Michael Jackson's Moonwalker is a real arcade game._ Now if you'll excuse me... *dodges flurry of bullets* I regret nothing! XP)


	13. Missing You

**Disclaimer:** "Wreck-It Ralph" and all characters related to the movie belong to The Walt Disney Company, and/or their respective gaming companies. Wreck-It Ralph was created by Rich Moore, Phil Johnston, and Jim Reardon. Level Up! and any characters not associated in their own respective franchise belong to Berserkeroo. All rights reserved.

(**A/N:** Sorry for the late update. I've been busy with a job — one that I recently quit might I add — so I'll try try to update more frequently. Calhoun isn't stalking me anymore so I think it's safe to update. A quote from another Disney film has been referenced in here. Let's see if you guys can guess.)

* * *

The soft hums of the cream-coated, royal race car reverberates across the tawny halls of Game Central Station. The owner of the Crémeux D'lite had her daughter sitting in the passenger's seat. Clearly the young _princess_ wasn't amused about their excursion to the _Mario_ gate. She rolls down the window and rests near the open window. "Vanellope, don't rest too close to the window. You'll ruin your hairstyle," Confection says as she enters the game. Vanellope slouches in her seat with disinterest. "And don't slouch... Vanellope, you have to make a good impression on the princesses of the other games," she informs before parking the car.

Vanellope groans with great contempt towards the impending boredom; and the increase in her nightmares haven't been improving her mood either. "Mom this is going to be _so_ boring. Can't you go on without me, and I just hang out with Sarg or something? She's a girl... _and way more fun than these frou-frou princesses_," she mutters the latter under her breathe. Her mother swats her in the arch of her back with a paper fan. "Watch your mouth. This is good training for when I finally give you the crown. You have to be a good diplomat towards the other games otherwise Sugar Rush will have to suffer for your lack of leadership. Now come on," she shuffles in her wine colored shoes.

The two enter into the massive castle in the Mushroom Kingdom. The refectory was already bustling with hushed conversations between the monarchs. "_Mom, we're late,_" she whispers as they make their way to their reserved seats. "_A princess is never late — everyone else is just early,_" her mother reminds her with smile. Vanellope quirks her brow at the odd statement, but took it as her mother's version of saying: _don't to worry about it and enjoy the event._ She sighed at any hope for being entertained at the luncheon, but she would do her best to be polite and try for the sake of her game.

Peach took a silver spoon and tapped a crystal glass to gather the attention of all the females within the room. After doing so, she clears her throat to address her guests. "Now that the last of us has arrive, I welcome you all to the Mushroom Kingdom. Since we have a few newcomers to our luncheon, how about we start with introduction. I'm Princess Peach Toadstool," she introduces before passing the introductions to the remaining princesses.

After introductions were made, the hostess of the event rang a small bell — calling in several Toads with silver trays in hand. "_Well, at least there's good food in it for me,_" Vanellope thought before sparing a glance to her mother, who seemed more interested in the conversation with Rosalina. Deep down, she knew her mother was keeping an eye on her; she always had eyes in the back of her head. She flinched at a bad memory before she sat up straight and held her hands in her lap. She groaned internally as she looked at the multitude of forks, spoons, and knives on the table. _This was going to be hard._

* * *

Vanellope gently places the fork down onto her napkin once she finishes her portion of food. Out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed that Daisy seemed just as bored as she was. Out of mild curiosity she decided to strike up a conversation with the other princess who seemed to share in her suffering. "You seem bored Daisy. Not enjoying the luncheon?" she asks. "It's not the luncheon that's boring me, it's that it's usually the same thing whenever we meet. _Let's talk about boys. Let's talk about feelings. Is there anything wrong with your game? Is there anything I can do to help?_" Vanellope was shocked to hear that someone was having similar thoughts on the matter of the luncheon so she continued to listen in, "Some of our games aren't the standard _mod save the princess_ story. Our franchise has branched out to things like basketball, tennis, soccer, racing..." This immediately struck the black haired princess's attention. "Racing?! Didn't know another game that had princesses that can race." Daisy chuckled at her astonishment. "If you haven't noticed, I'm not like most princesses." The sugar racer nodded in agreement. "_Duly noted._"

Daisy nudged her in the rib. "Your dating Wreck-It Ralph right?" she asked. "Uhm, yeah. Why?" the saccharine princess asks. "No reason in particular. It's just that Peach might want to talk to you later so I thought I'd tell you in advance." Just to be sate her curiosity, she glances towards her hostess. This seemed to make the mushroom princess quite happy since she seemed like she had something important to say to her. Vanellope glances back at Daisy with a intrigued expression. "Any clue as to what she has to stay to me?" The flower princess simply shrugged before glancing to her best friend. "Your guess is as good as mine. I think it might have something to do with Bowser and Ralph — after all — they are good friends."

"They are? He never told me that, but then again, I try to stay out of things when it comes to Bad-Anon. He takes it seriously." Daisy taps her chin in contemplation before coming to her own conclusion. "Sounds reasonable. I don't really get it, but then again, I'm not dating an antagonist. _Not that there's anything wrong with dating a bad guy that is,_" she rushed to make amends to any harm that could have been dealt. Vanellope waves her apology off, though it did bring up the memory of the conversation that she and Ralph shared on their date.

She didn't realize that she was spacing out for as long enough to capture concern from her new associate. A lithe gloved hand snapped in front of her face, drawing her attention back into reality. "What?" she asks as she looks her way. "You were zoning out. Are you okay?" the flower princess asks. "I'm fine, but I'm a little concerned about Ralph though. He's still got a few issues that he can't get over with the whole _bad guy_ thing. _Even though he's the sweetest guy I've ever met._" Daisy cocks her head to the side in bemusement. She didn't feel all that useful considering her boyfriend was a protagonist who was comfortable in his skin, well, despite him being immensely cowardly at times.

Confection eases out of her conversation with Rosalia and Elika to address her daughter. She may not have married a villain, but she knew many things when it came to love. Silently she wished she would have stayed a bit longer on her little espionage mission, but what's in the past is in the past. "He sounds a bit like Candy in a way. He was never secure with himself until I had to give him a good push," she says before sipping on some of the water in her glass. "You make it sound so easy though mom," Vanellope replies.

"Love is complicated in that way; sometimes it's easy, sometimes it's not so easy..." Peach said from her seat a few people to the left. "Bowser and I went through the same thing. Things will get better in their own _unique_ way. Take a look at us now, we sparked right after we had a huge misunderstanding," she titters behind her hand. "You guys sparked and you didn't tell me!" Daisy huffed at her best friend. "I was so happy that I forgot to mention it to you, and I didn't want my relationship to overshadow Mario and Pauline's party." Everyone at the table gave a round of applause at the recent development of the mushroom princess. "I have Wreck-It Ralph to thank for that Vanellope. He calmed Bowser down so that I could rationally talk with him. I baked a cake as a way of saying thanks, so will you please give it to him?" Peach asks.

Vanellope looks baffled at whatever role Ralph could play as a love counselor, but she does reply that she will give it to him the next time she sees him. "Well how do I help him get over it?" she asks; after all, she was the only woman who seemed to know more about her predicament than anyone else present. Peach takes a sip of water since she needed it for her tale:

_Bowser let out a furious roar as he hurtles out of the Mushroom Kingdom castle and towards the exit of the game. His beloved princess rests her hand against the glass as she watches him leave. Tears stain the corner of her eyes before a gloved hand holds onto her lifeless hand. Mario, now fully clothed, offers the most apologetic look that he could muster at the consequences of the misunderstanding. "Don't worry Mario, it's not your fault," she smiles towards the short man. "But he's awful angry at us now. You were just giving me new clothes and now he'll rip my head off during opening hours," he panics in his thick accent. "If I know one thing about Bowser, it's that he's not a naturally violent character. He just needs to cool his head off," she replies._

_The Italian hero shakes his head at this. "I don't think waiting is a good idea. It's not a matter of him making assumptions, he saw us together, so he's going to think the worst and think that you went back to default," he replies with a sad look at the princess. Peach sighs at the truth behind his words. So long as she remains in a relationship with Bowser without sparking, he's going to assume that she's going into default, but little did he know, the party that was being held today was for Mario and his old flame Pauline. It was a engagement party to celebrate their spark. The spark left him immune to falling victim to his programmed feelings, but unfortunately, not her. "Then what do you suppose I do?" she asks._

_Mario folds his arms as he glances off to the side. Pondering what would be the best course of action for dealing with the enraged king. "I think you need to show him how much you care for him. You better hurry before the Surge Protector gets him first. Daisy can handle it while you're away," the plumber said with his trademark smile. "Thanks Mario you really are a true friend." She hikes up her dress and rushes off to GCS._

_Peach goes about the vast station in search of the large Koopa, but comes up empty handed. She spots Ralph making a mad dash from his game's gate. "Excuse me, Ralph!" she calls him over. He jogs over to her with a look of urgency on his face, but he could never bring himself to be rude to a woman. "You're good friends with Bowser. Do you know where I can find him?" she asks in hope that he would know where he is. "He's probably at Bad-Anon right now, which started about a few minutes ago," he says. "Oh," she replied while looking down at the ground. Ralph ponders talking to her about it, but he was running late for his weekly meeting._

_After a moment of forethought, she decided to take a seat outside the gate to PacMan. Hopefully she can catch him in a better mood. Before long, loud tromping steps could be heard coming from the tunnel. Bowser runs out of the tunnel with a panicked look on his face. "Where is she? Where is she?!" he thought before he felt a soft form hugging him by the arm. A blush managed to break through his tough scales. "Peach I-" a gloved finger presses against his muzzle._

_"Let me speak first," she says with a soft voice. Bowser gulped down his nervousness. He feared the worst after his accusatory outburst. This was it. She was going to leave him. "I love you Bowser," the princess says with a smile. The king gawks at her with surprise. How could she after what he just did? She opens her mouth to continue. "I know I haven't been the best girlfriend when it comes to defending you in public, but I'm not going to let it happen while I'm around anymore. You've done everything to keep me safe; even denying how much you care for me just because I was afraid of what my subjects would think about me dating a bad guy. You're not a bad guy — far from it to be exact — and you deserve someone who is willing to stand by you through the brunt of your troubles," she wrapped her arm onto his massive padded stomach; not being able to hold him entirely, but enough to spread her warmth._

_Bowser was in immense shock after her confession. His massive, scaly arms encircled around the fair princess, but the happy moment wasn't to last for long. A Propeller Shy Guy flutters over to the blissful pair. The red minion scowls at the couple as they glance over at the intruder of their intimate moment. "I don't want to sound rude, but can I help you?" the large Koopa asked with a quirked crimson brow. "No, but I'm want to help you out boss. I've already ordered some of the other Shy Guys to come escort you back to your castle. We need to prepare for the game play tomorrow," the small antagonist states. "Is that it? The arcade just closed two hours ago. We have all night to prepare. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a party to help set up."_

_The Shy Guy shook his head in disapproval. "You're going to regret toying with that princess boss! She'll turn on you faster than a player can clear a level with a star." The blond princess half turns to the disrespectful minion. Bowser looked like he wanted to cause his Game Over in the middle of GCS, which wouldn't do. She took in a breath and stepped in before he could do anything that he might regret. "Under what pretenses do you make your accusation?"_

_"Under what pretenses? That plumber follows you like a puppy. You've hit default a long time ago Peach, and some of the Shy Guys and Koopas aren't happy about you distracting the Big Guy. He won more often when he wasn't obsessed with you, and now he gets thrown into a lava pit at least six times a day! You're making a mockery of the bad guys in our game, and our representative is acting like a love struck fool!" Peach taps her finger to her chin as she contemplates on her choice of words. "Your words are far from the truth. For one, why would I tug around two male characters? That's not fit behavior for a well-established princess character, and that would put our game to shame. And two, Mario sparked with Pauline months ago and we've planning an engagement party today. Even if it's possible for a character to go into default while their programmed love interest sparked with another, why would he encourage bad behavior when he's found his perfectly coded match?" The unknown facts shut the small bad guy up without much effort. She stepped a few paces forward to look down at the embarrassed bad guy._

_"It's a hard thing to accept, just like how my citizens aren't too keen on my relationship with Bowser, but you don't have to worry about me interfering with him or toying with his emotions. I'm sure he'll manage to still be the 'Great Demon King' that you have all come to respect him as. We aren't enemies after hours so lets all try to work together to make our game better for the players and the arcade." The Shy Guy remained silent until the sounds of the Sky Guys came from above._

_Bowser glances up at the small minions as they dangle from their balloons. "Change of plans. I'm going to a friend's engagement party. Tell the Koopalings to handle preparations, and have Ludwig come up with something nasty for tomorrow; he has the right 'touch'," the large king said with a dismissive glance. The Sky Guys looked at each other, but decided against irritating him; they all knew how bad his temper could be._

_With the mild annoyances out of the way, the couple walk towards the castle, but on their way — the most peculiar thing happened. A bright cinder emitted from above. The two of them glance above their heads to find hearts of fire blazing. He nudges Peach a bit to gain her attention from the embers. "Did we just..." Peach chuckled at the blush creeping up on his face. "It seems the game of Mario will be having two engagement parties to host. Lets just wait to announce it so that we don't steal Mario and Pauline's thunder."_

Princess Peach sits up with a straight back, but her glance was directed towards the Sugar Rush princess. Her eyes seemed to grow extremely serious. "I admit this in confidence that this stays between us princesses... Bowser's suspicions weren't wrong at one point. During the early summer I went through a few default bursts, and fell into my programming," gasps went around the table with shocked expressions. "Fortunately nothing happened, and I've avoided Mario for most of the summer. That is, until he sparked with Pauline. After that, I didn't have to worry."

Quite a few princesses nodded their heads in understanding. "It's hard staying in a relationship when you have a programmed love interest," Zelda responds with understanding. Vanellope cocks her head to the side in confusion. "What's it like?" she asks. Peach, and most of the other princesses stare at her in surprise. "What?" In the pit of her gut, she could feel that this wasn't an appropriate question, but her curiosity outweighed her genteel teachings... and the chewing out that she would receive from her mother later. _Okay, maybe not the latter, but it's too late to take the question back now._

To her luck, Peach didn't seem to mind answering it, and the others — whom she guessed have had issues with going into _default_ — didn't show any signs of being upset at her bluntness. "It's like your first day of being plugged in. You follow your programming to a T. The only difference is that you're in love, and it's not in your programming to love someone else. You cannot stop your thoughts or your actions. It can happen at anytime. Faster if you're close to your programmed love interest, and slower if you aren't. And it will never leave you... It will nag you until you've either succumbed to your programming, or that you spark with the one you love." The statement sent a chill down the black haired princess's spine. _Something that permanent exists? "Thank mod I don't have a programmed love interest. This thing sounds terrifying, and it will never leave until an alternative is met!"_

Peach seemed to sense her thoughts and turned the subject back onto a lighter note; advice for the couple that helped her spark. "Until your relationship has hit a few bumps in the road, you won't know how _badly_ you want to retain and cherish what you two have built. No one like hardships in a relationship, but once you get through them together the results will be well worth it Miss von Schweetz," she responds with her usually sweet voice.

Vanellope silently thanks her for the change of subject. She mulls over the advice given to her, and notices that it sounds remotely familiar. "_Come what come may..._" She didn't show her disinterest at being regurgitated the same advice, but it did benefit her all the same. A feeling of understanding the more complex emotions that came with her upgrade washed over her.

In the aftermath of her contemplation, she realizes that Daisy was chatting away with Peach on the engagement party and wedding for the bride-to-be. To the flower princess's surprise, Peach was more intent on having Wreck-It Ralph and Vanellope as assistance to the affair. "_Wait, what?!_" she thought with a quirked black-licorice eyebrow. Her eyes went to her mother, whom was staring right back at her. She seemed to get the message without being told. _An excellent political opportunity to make another ally for their game._

Daisy was more than happy to share the limelight so long as she remained the captain of the preparations; with Peach giving her approval every step of the way of course. Curiosity flooded through the room as ideas and suggestions went out to help their hostess plan the event. Although she would never bring herself to admit it, she enjoyed being a part of the planning; it almost seemed... fun. "_I think I've been here a bit too long. I miss Sarg and Candlehead..._" A thought just struck her. "_I might want to run some of these ideas with Candlehead. She's great with planning parties._"

A snide remark snapped her attention to the end of the table. Daisy was going back and forth with princess Eclair. The basis of the argument was encircled around the wardrobe of the affair. Daisy was advocating that the event should be casual with a few decorations colored by the color scheme that Peach stated that she wanted. Vanellope silently agreed with her about not over exaggerating the party, but the Waffle princess wasn't having any of it. Shokora tired to ease the fight between her friend and Daisy, but she was quickly silence by the bickering pair. To be quite honest, Vanellope thought the quarrel seemed natural between the two princesses; like it's happened on more than one occasion. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Peach pinching the bridge of her nose, and before she could think about it, a pastry barely missed her face.

Daisy gritted her teeth at the action and took the pie that was on her plate and hurled it towards the peach haired princess. Eclair evades the pie, but to the shock of everyone at the table, it hit Zelda in her left cheek. Everyone gasps at Zelda's eyes transcended from sapphire to ruby. Vanellope unconsciously shifted over to where her mom was as the Hyrule princess slowly stands to her feet as she scrapes off the crusts and pie filling. "_This is not going to end pretty._" Food was being flung everywhere!

Peach sighs since she knew something on this caliber was going to happen when having Daisy and Eclair in the same room. To the disdain of Queen Confection, she didn't want this to be her daughter's first thought of what princesses do at these kind of social gatherings. With a sigh she decides to maintain some kind of order so that they can get back to some form of civility. She ducks a strudel before scolding her daughter from partaking into something so lowbrow. "Oy vey, you're all princesses for crust's sake! Show some composure." And just like that, a cupcake nails her in the back of the head. "Oh that's it! It is so on! I'll show you not to mess with a York girl!" she growls with her accent coming into play. "_Huh, so mom can cut loose once in awhile,_" Vanellope chuckles from her place beneath the table.

* * *

A lavender hard candy trailed behind the slightly larger sour candy as he explains the layout of the building of the Sugar Rush castle. For the most part she seemed to pay attention until something else caught her eyes; two massive white doors. "Hey uncle, where does that lead to?" she asks with keen interest. Sour Bill glances at the entryway to the throne room for a while. He thought of his earlier conversation with the king.

_The sour candy taps at his sore face as he recovers from his daily thrashing from trying to awaken his princess from her night terrors. This had to stop, and he knew that he couldn't withhold the information, even if he promised her that he would. His face couldn't take much more beatings and he couldn't afford a glucose transplant if he allowed it to continue. He snaps out of his pondering to find himself in front of his leader and closest friend. His woeful face was an oddity to the older racer. "Sour Bill, what happened?" he asks with concern._

_With a sigh he relays the information he's gathered about Vanellope's increase in nightmares as of late. The sugary king's eyes grew wide in horror at the news. "How long has this been going on for?" King Candy asks as he looks out of his window to find his wife's car had just left their game. "A little over a week. Did something happen to her Your Majesty?" Sour Bill asks out of concern. The man couldn't think of anything that could cause the nightmares except for one thing. "This happened the night we came from the beach. Oh pocky stick!" he curses._

_"What are we going to do?" For the first time, in a long time, King Candy didn't know how to handle solving a problem relating to his own daughter. "I... I don't know..." he said in desolation._

Sour Bill shook his head as he focuses on his niece. "Those lead to the throne room Sweetie Jill. The king is very... _occupied_ at the moment so I don't think a tour in there would be a wise decision for the day," he replies in his usual dead voice. Before Sweetie Jill could bring forth another question, the sounds of laughter and agitation could be heard coming down the halls of the castle. It was the queen and princess.

King Candy walks out of the door as soon as he could hear his family return from their gathering. "Oh my! What happened to you two?" he gasps as he notices the current state of their apparel. Vanellope was snickering at her mother's appearance. "Let's just say I lost my temper," Confection says in a much smoother tone. "Mom's inner Yorker came out to play!" Candy casts a scolding look towards his wife's behavior. "What? They started it," she replied as icing dripped from her hair. "I can see why mom likes going to these events. They're fun."

Candy glances over to Sour Bill and his _guest_. "Sour Bill, we need to relay some information to Coni. Do you mind postponing your tour?" he asks. "I can't just leave her by herself sir," Sour Bill replies. "I'm not a little girl anymore!" she replies with a groan. "It's not that you're a child, I just don't trust you to behave."

Vanellope offers to keep an eye on the girl, but Sour Bill emphasises that the idea would make him worry more. _Two troublemakers are not a good combination._ Out of mild curiosity she decides to ask the girl a question that's been bothering her since she's seen the girl. "Are you two related?" Sweetie Jill scoffs in disgust towards the princess. "Just because we're hard candies doesn't mean we're related Ms. President. Do you think that all hard candies look the same? I find that quite racially offensive!" she snorts with a turned up lip. "What? Whoa, whoa, calm down. Sheesh, I'm sorry. I just assumed..." her apology was cut off by a burst of laughter. "I'm just teasing ya. Ol' grumble puss is my uncle."

Sour Bill looks towards Candy with an _'I told you so'_ look. "Sweetie Jill, don't mess with the president. It's rude and she's your ruler," he states. "That's funny. I don't see any numbers on her," she replies as she pokes the monarch by her stockings. Vanellope chuckles at the silly joke. "Sweetie Jill's the name, and teasing is my game," the lavender candy extends her hand out to the president.

Vanellope spits in her hand before extending it. "Vanellope von Schweetz," she offers with a daring glint in her eyes. Sweetie Jill spits in her hand and shakes her hand with the racer. "I like her already uncle." Sour Bill massages his temples while grumbling under his breath. He decided to let go of the matter and let the girls get acquainted while he went into the throne room for the equally discontent couple.

"Hope you don't mind me getting cleaned off first. Pineapple filling is not comfortable," she replies. "Not at all Vanellope. Uncle Sour Bill is supposed to be letting me stay here while my parents are on vacation in Bubbylon. I'm not going anywhere for a while."

* * *

Sour Bill closes the door as he enters the throne room. The royal couple was conversing about the current state of the queen, and why her hair was as littered with treats as their daughter's hair. She gives a sheepish smile to her husband as she goes into depth of the events that occurred during the luncheon. "It was kind of fun not acting like royalty twenty-four-seven. I think it made some of a little closer in a way," Confection notes as she remembers her tag team assault with Hilde on Kairi. "Well isn't that nice sweetums."

"Yeah. It makes me miss some of my friends back in York to be honest. I might want to make a trip out there on the weekend. I miss some of my non-political friends." The king nods in understanding, but he knew he had to tell her of the recent information pertaining to Vanellope. Deep down he didn't want to, but he knew that she would be more furious if she left her daughter alone while she was having a problem that needed to be addressed. He took in a deep breath. "Coni, Vanellope has been having nightmares ever since we have returned from the beach. I think that prophecy is to bugging her. I'm worried," he says as he looks her way.

Confection's eyes snapped at the two males in the room. "How long have you known this Candy!" she hoists him by his collar. She may love the man, but hiding information about Vanellope was a big no-no in their relationship. "Easy Coni, I just found out not that long ago. You were already gone to the luncheon and I didn't want you to make a scene if I told you," he glances at her appearance. "If I knew this would have happened, I guess it couldn't have been any worse." The black haired woman growls towards his comment but chose to ignore it for now.

Sour Bill bows towards his queen. "My sincerest of apologies Your Highness. I thought it would have stopped and she made me promise to keep it a secret, but I just can't do it anymore. The president can't keep going on like this, and whatever is going on in that dream is getting worse as the days go by," he says in concern. "What are we going to do?" The pair paces about the room in contemplation, until the grey haired man snaps up with a solution. "I have no choice, but we need to keep her Sugar Rush for a while; at least until we can come up with a way to get rid of these dreams."

If Confection knew one thing about her daughter, it was that she was not going to take this decision down with grace. "You know she isn't going to be cooperative with this. She's going to want a reason, and the last thing we need is a war going on in this castle," she replies with growing pang. "We'll just have to lie and say that we need her help with a few documents. If she ever cared about anything without question, it's her game."

In the grand bedroom of the west wing, Vanellope towel dries the moisture from her milk bath. True to her word, her new acquaintance waited patiently for the girl to get into more casual attire. "Nice digs prez!" she compliments. "Eh, these aren't anything special. Just something to wear when I hang out with my friends. You should come with me. I'm sure you'll like Ralph," she says with a grin. "Is he your boyfriend?" Sweetie Jill teases. "Yup. That loveable son of a gun is mine. We are planning on going to this MMORPG called _Rift_ in Game Oriental Station. Afterwards, we are going to go into _Epic Mickey_ to meet up with a few more of our friends," she ticks off. "You guys sure know how to live."

Before the conversation could continue, a knock comes from the door, revealing Queen Confection. She gives the all clear, for her husband to enter the room. She glances towards her parents with curiosity. "What's the occasion?" she chuckles as she laces her boots. Her mother rolls her eyes with fondness. "No occasion, just needed to talk to you about something." A black eyebrow rises at the spur of the moment conversation. "Okay. Fire away." Candy glances down at the lavender candy girl, then back at his daughter. "Vanny, we need you to stay in the game for a while." Vanellope jumps back in confusion. "Why? I'm going to be late again."

"You're going to be more than late. You aren't going. We need you here for a few days," Confection says. "What? Days! What did I do? Mom that isn't fair!" she protests. "You didn't do anything. We don't want to have to go through the entire arcade just to hunt you down. Invite your girlfriends over when you're not working," Vanellope groans. "_I can't. They'll be spending their time with their boyfriends,_" she mutters. "Vanellope von Schweetz, you have a responsibility to your game and we need you here for awhile. I've put my foot down on this. End of discussion," Candy says as he turns to leave. The president growls with folded arms as she watches her parents' retreating backsides. For once she wished that her undying loyalty to her game had an off button.

Vanellope takes out a sheet of baking parchment, and scrawls out a quick note to her lover. She wraps a green ribbon around the paper, and calls for one of the royal messengers to deliver the note to _Wreck-It Ralph_ in _Fix-It Felix Jr: Extended_. "And don't forget Peach's cake."

* * *

On the other side of GCS, Ralph was just exiting his home. Before he could even exit his game, he spots a familiar female form. Tendrils of blond hair from behind a mask waft gently in the wind. The woman in her skintight outfit, smokes her pipe casually, as if she were in thought. She waits nearby the game gate, almost as if she were waiting for someone. "_Doronjo? What is she doing here?_" he ponders. Just as if she heard him call out to her, she lifts her head with a friendly smile. _Just the villain she was waiting for._

"There you are! I've been looking for you. I was just about to give up," the dark clothed villainess replies with a casual grin on her crimson lips. The wrecker scratches the back of his neck at her sudden appearance. _What could she want with him?_ "How may I help you Doronjo?" he asks in a friendly manner. "Can't a girl just come to talk with her counselor?" she says with false indignation. "Knowing you? Nope. What do you want?" The blond snickers at his openness. "Seems you can read me like a book. I just needed someone strong to help me move some of the gold in my game. I gave Boyacky and Tonzura the day off, and now I have no one to help me move all that heavy gold to my vault."

"As much as I'd like to help, I've got plans with Vanellope, Felix, and Calhoun. I'm going to pick her up now. Why don't you get Zangief, Reptile, or Bowser to help you?" She sighs with her hands on her hips. "I've already tried. Zangief is going to be with his _Arctic fox_, Reptile is doing a practice tournament with Sub-Zero, and Bowser is helping Peach clean out the castle. He didn't specify what the mess was about, but I didn't pry." The eight-bit villain felt a little bad that she had to be left to do the job by herself, but he couldn't cancel at the last minute, could he?

Just as the thought entered his mind, a caramel cube citizen runs over with a note in hand. He lifts the note to the large villain. "Message from Miss von Schweetz." Ralph takes the letter and reads it over:

_"Hey Stinkbrain,_

_Sorry for cancelling at the last minute. My parents need me in my game for a few days so I won't be seeing you for a while. I have some chores as a ruler to attend to, and you know how I am about my job. I don't really think this is about them needing my help. Pfft, dad is probably grounding me for dating for all I know. Try to manage without me._

_PS: Peach wanted me to give you this cake. I'll explain later._

_With Love,_  
_Vanellope"_

Ralph looks down at the caramel candy, waiting expectantly. "Tell her it's fine, and no need to be sorry." The candy salutes before running back to his game. He looks over to Doronjo who was still present. "My other friends aren't expecting me for a few hours so I guess I can help you move that gold," he smirks. The blond hugs his arm with gratitude. "I knew I could rely on you. Let's get the show on the road," she pulls him along.

* * *

Ralph carries a few crates over to the seemingly never-ending vault. He watches Doronjo go at a much leisurely pace with two crates. _Two? She definitely wouldn't have been able to do this without help._ He glances over to the decreasing creates of gold. _Only a dozen left._ "Ralph?" His head snaps over to the villainess. "I really appreciate this. I don't think I would be able to get any help from anyone else in my game, you know, with being bad and all." The giant smiles appreciatively. "No need to worry about it. I'm sure anyone in our group would have been happy to help. And if the characters in your game give you any trouble, feel free to look for me or Clyde."

The black clad woman opens one of her crates and takes out a golden bar. "Your heart is a pure as this golden bar Ralph. You're too nice," she chuckles as she tosses the bar his way. He fumbled about in attempt to catch the bar. "I couldn't accept pay. You're one of my friends Doronjo," he says as he places the gold onto a random box. "Just because I love gold, doesn't mean I can't share. It would make me feel better if you did anyways. Now lets get these final creates in here."

"Uhm... right."

* * *

(**A/N:** So Vanellope is stuck in her game for a while, meanwhile, Ralph is helping a friend from Bad-Anon. I wonder what will happen in the chapters to come? Oh who am I kidding? I know, and you will all have to wait and find out! BWAHAHAHA! *cough* Just to clarify who Doronjo is, she's a villain from the series Yatterman. She can be found in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom. Enjoy, and more Jawbreaker to come.)


	14. Dreams

**Disclaimer:** "Wreck-It Ralph" and all characters related to the movie belong to The Walt Disney Company, and/or their respective gaming companies. Wreck-It Ralph was created by Rich Moore, Phil Johnston, and Jim Reardon. Level Up! and any characters not associated in their own respective franchise belong to Berserkeroo. All rights reserved.

(**A/N:** I thought I was happy writing the chapter about the date, but this one hits me closer to home. I'm including a character I love to bits. He's so freaking adorable, and from a game I use to play as a kid. If you guys are a fan of this guy, I hope you enjoy it, and please don't give me backlash on his backstory. I think it fits him, and after all, he is a _forgotten dream_. Just a warning, Ralph's not in this chapter, and Vanellope isn't really the star either. Sorry, but the story needs this chapter.)

* * *

Vanellope sighs as she gets ready for bed. True to their word, her parents found her something to do during her confinement. She couldn't find a reason why they couldn't pass the task onto the cabinet members, but decided against thinking too much on the subject. It wasn't that bad. It's only been three days, and she's been hanging out with Sweetie Jill. Even Roxas visited his favorite president a few times _on business._ Sometimes the ambassador would sneak into the castle _off the clock_. As to how he managed the feat time and time again, it was still beyond her. She stifles a yawn as she walks over to her window. Her eyes went up to the sky as she notices three neon wisps sail across the sky; violet, amber, and green. She plops onto her bed, bounces a few times, and settles under the soft sheets. Sleep soon consumed the young girl.

Unknown to her, the king of the game entered her room with a concerned look. He's been doing so since he _asked_ her to stay. "_Nothing is working. I've tried everything!_" he mentally scolded himself. Almost as if she heard his desperation, she tosses in her sleep. He plants a chaste kiss on her forehead as he sits on the canapé in the corner.

A creak comes from the salmon colored door. It was the queen. She shuffles over to the soft canapé and leans next to him. "_Candy you need to come to bed. You've been up for three days, and if you have another wreck during open hours, we might be in some serious trouble,_" she whispers. Her eyes went to Vanellope, as she stretches out like a lazy house cat. "_I can't. That nightmare is going to happen again, and I fear for her. She's been getting worse,_" he states. "_I know, but we've tried everything. The guru can't pinpoint who the enemy is and we've tried talking to the best doctor in the arcade. We're on the roster tomorrow,_" she replies. "_What if she starts having glitch attacks in her sleep?_" The silence in the room could be more prominent than it was in that moment.

Candy knew that it was a low blow, but the possibility popped into his mind more than once. He knew he wouldn't stay with her through the night, but a few more minutes couldn't hurt, right? "_I'll be in bed soon,"_ he promises. Confection plants a kiss on his cheek before leaving the room, albeit very slowly. Her eyes went to Vanellope once more before closing the door.

True to his word, he left the room within an hour. He walked the hushed of the Sugar Rush castle, but his mind was elsewhere. He glances out of the stained sugary windows out towards the courtyard. A few guards stood at attention while guarding the entrance to the castle.

Confection was already asleep by the time he entered the room; or she appeared to be. He eases into the bed and snuggles under the covers. His eyes went to the painting that ran across the dome-like roof. It was similar to a painting in the player's world called _The Starry Night_. The parody of the infamous painting had a soothing effect on the king, and soon, he was asleep as well.

* * *

Darkness shrouded the realm from the tip of his nose until the endless horizon. Wind harshly blowing his sleeping wear. He turns to try to find the source of the random gust, only to come short of a dent in the ground from a concussive blast. A fierce mewl came from a black and white, long eared, feline creature. The anthropomorphic cat clearly looked as though he were a child, albeit a very skeptical one. The cat examines him before deeming him non-threatening. "Who are you?" Candy finally asks the odd child.

The feline looks at the royal with a confused glance, but he shakes his head. "My name's Klonoa. I'm from the game _Klonoa: Door to Phantomile_ in GBS. What's your name dreamwalker?" he asks with a sway in his tail. "Dreamwalker?" The boy groans at the formality he was going to have to give. He pondered on why he should bother. _It's not like the stranger would remember any of this._ He sighs at the thought. "A dreamwalker is a person who is conscious or aware of their dreams. Only a dreamwalker or an enemy can see me," he states with another observing glance to the king. _Definitely not dangerous._ "What are you doing in my head... uhm.. dream?"

Klonoa is surprised at the man's interest in his presence in his dream, but then again, who wouldn't be? He's probably seen as an intruder. "I'm known as the dream traveler, the guardian of the dream realm... _the forgotten dream_," he pauses before continuing. "My job is to find the source of nightmares and destroy it. There has been a big source of negative dream energy from GCS. I've been hopping from dream to dream trying to find it, but it's only been small fish so far. I'm positive that it's in this game. I've checked everyone in the game except the people in this castle. I can just smell the nightmare in this place!" Candy gawks at the perceptive young lad. The feline glances his way. "You know something don't you?"

The king nods with a sense of relief. "It's my daughter. She's been having a nightmare for over a week. We've tried everything." Klonoa smirks as he finally finds his target. "That matches the timing of when I started feeling the negativity. I'll send that nightmare packing," he smirks with a thumbs up. "You will? Thank you. You don't know how much it means to me. She has a very sensitive code, and I don't want her to get hurt." The black and white cat nods as he takes in the information. "Thanks sir. I'll be on my way to her dream right now."

Just as he was about to leave the older man's dream, he hears the racer speak out. "Can I come with you? I'm concerned about her well-being, and I want to find out about what's terrifying her." The dream traveler waves his hands and shakes his head. "No way! Out of the question! There's only one character besides me that is qualified to fight nightmares — and that's NiGHTS — and since Litwak doesn't own that game, I work solo. The character that owns that specific dream realm can't die, but anyone or anything else is fair game. Everything you would experience in there is real. It will be your Game Over, no regeneration, even if you're in your game," he warns with a stern look. "I have to go. Maybe her dream is more than a dream. She started having that dream after finding out some disturbing news pertaining to our game's fate. As king, I have to know what's going on in her dream, at least to rule out the possibility that there may be something more to her nightmare."

Klonoa flattens his ears at the persistence of the monarch, but he had a point, although it had one major flaw; the guardian himself. "_Fine. It's not like you'll remember anyways,_" he mutters. With a waft of his hand, they fade from Candy's dream world into that of Vanellope von Schweetz.

The two materialize into what appears to be a slightly distorted version of Sugar Rush. The skies were glowing red, giving the entire game an eerie crimson stained appearance. The haunting voice of an elderly woman echoes across the landscape. "**_Danger lies up ahead..._**" Klonoa readies himself for his off the clock duty. "Stay close sir," he says as he pulls out a massive ring. King Candy did just as instructed and stayed as close to the young dream traveler as possible without hindering his flexibility in battle.

Klonoa leaps into action, quite literally to be honest. The ring discharges a gust of wind, immediately making the common Moo enemy gather into his grasp. A throaty roar comes from behind him. "What the heck is that thing?" he mutters before hurling the Moo at the oncoming bug. The small enemy stuns the massive bug, but only long enough for Candy to run to safety. _Good_. He flaps his massive ears, easily evading the charging insect. He made quick work of finding another Moo, and throwing the helpless thing into the bigger threat.

The guardian rolls his shoulders as he calls over to his traveling companion. "It's all clear." Candy returns from his hiding place, and to the cat's side. "I've never encountered an enemy like that before. It's so strange. Maybe you were right about this nightmare. It's not normal, at least as far as normal goes for nightmares. Something dark is going on in this dream world..." Before he could ponder too much on the subject, a scream heralds across the sugary expanse. "That sounds like Vanellope!" the king says. "Take it easy. We'll get to her."

The two sprint off into the direction of outcry. Klonoa almost runs right off of a sharp incline into a gnarly portion of the Candy Cane Forest. Candy almost did likewise, until a gloved hand grabs him by his arm and swings him back to safety. "That was a close one sir," he noted. "Call me Candy." Klonoa's ears raised in a manner that added to his confused expression. He shook his head before looking the other way. "Alright. Sure. We'll have to find another way down there if we want to get down there safely."

An elongated coleopteran stampedes through the massive forest, knocking over candy canes left and right. It appeared to be chasing something, or someone. Vanellope glances back at the massive beast chasing behind her. She held a cherry bomb in her hand as she heads out towards Diet Cola Mountain. "_Can't escape. Got to set off a beacon. Must save game. Don't want to die again..._" Tears welling into her eyes as she glances back at the fully throttling bug. "Who created this thing?!" she shouts in distress.

She makes a sharp turn into a ticker part of the forest, hoping that the extra branches would slow it down. The beast roars since it can't reach the girl. Almost on instinct, it began to eat away at the minty treat. Vanellope smiles at the amount of chewing the creature would have to do in order to catch her, but before she could get too overjoyed, the flutter of metallic wings could be heard echoing in the distance. Three of the much smaller bugs emerge from the shadows. "Oh for sweets sake!" she grumbles before weaving through the trees and onto the cocoa road.

Another massive bug lands on the ground with a large thudding sound. A shrouded figure snickers from on top of the insect. "Why are you doing this?" Vanellope asks with fear in her eyes. A row of yellowed teeth gleams from the veiled figure. "Why? My naive girl isn't it simple?" the voice sounded almost feminine. "If it were simple I would have figured it out by now." The figure cackles at her confusion. The insect lowers its head, allowing the silhouette to get closer to the girl. "I want revenge!"

Klonoa and Candy arrive at that moment. But on Klonoa's insistence, he advised them to stay back. He mentioned something about _nightmares being stupid enough to blather away at their plans._ "_Shh... We'll be discovered. You said you wanted to find out didn't you?_" he whispers. "_Yes, but Vanny-_" Candy says as he looks out towards his daughter pulling a brave front. "_Don't worry about her Candy, I won't miss. I've got a clear shot if the hag tries anything. It's my duty to protect her and all dreamers._" They tune in on the conversation only a few feet away.

Vanellope takes a step back, not out of fear, but out of bemusement. "Revenge? What did I do to you? I've never even met you!" The figure only laughed harder. "Oh yes you have. Well, I guess not me per say, but you have met the one whom I've taken a physical manifestation of. Quite frankly, I don't care what she looks like so long as I get to feed. You give out the most delicious fear I've ever tasted. It tastes just like candy," she said with a snap of her finger. The massive bug sends out a battle cry as it advances onto her.

Candy looks at Klonoa with concern. "_Can we move now?_" he hisses with urgency. "_No. Not yet,_" he whispers. Vanellope starts walking backwards as the insect slowly walks upon her. "_Now!_" the worried father starts to sweat. "_No!_" Klonoa eyes the girl with expectancy. _Come on. Come on..._ She turns around to run in a full burst of speed._ Yes!_ The sudden act infuriates the bug into going into a pursuit. "Now!" he jumps out and sends a blast of wind into the creature's glowing eyes.

The coleopteran rears back now that it has been effectively blinded. The nightmare glances at the sudden arrival of Klonoa. "You!" she hisses with despise. "Not happy to see me?" the dream traveler smirks with confidence. "What nightmare in its right mind would be happy to see you, pest!" she grits her yellowed teeth. Her equally yellowed eyes went to the retreating form of her prey. "_I'll let her get away for this dream. Once this pest is dealt with, I can always come back and get her later,_" she ponders.

The brief distraction cost the nightmare her mount, as he tossed a few Moos at it's dissipating eyes. "No!" she wails out as the beast went down. "Candy! Go to her! Make sure she defeats the nightmare's underlings!" Candy briefly pauses at the helpful feline. "But what about you?" Klonoa throws one of the Moos at the oncoming attack of the ringleader behind the madness. "**Just go! We came in together, and we'll leave together!**" Without further encouragement the racer rushes off to aid his daughter in her quest.

Vanellope runs through the hidden shortcut into the mountainside. To her dismay, one of the creatures was nesting in the mountain. She jumps at the sudden hand that grasps her shoulder, and she would have screamed too, had another hand not covered her mouth. She turns to see who or what was after her now. "_Daddy?_" she muffles at the sight of her father. He put a finger up to his lips.

As soon as he gave her freedom over her mouth, she asks him "What are you doing here? Why didn't you leave the game with the others?" Candy waves her off as if he were a part of her dream. "And leave my little girl to save our game by herself?" Vanellope embraces him with a loving hug. "You may be a young lady, but everyone needs their parents sometimes," he says with a smile. "_Thanks dad,_" she whispers.

In the heat of their warm moment, they failed to realize that they've warranted the unwanted attention of the slumbering insect. "Vanellope look out," Candy pushes her out of the way. The insect misses her, and barely missed him; although he gained a bleeding wound on his leg from the creature's fangs. It reared it's head back, and came in for another attack, but the father-daughter pair rolled out of reach. "Run Vanellope, run! I'll distract it. You set off the cherry bomb." Good thing this was a dream, or she would never believe that she did what her father said without thinking twice.

On the main road to the soda-based mountain, Klonoa stumbles back a bit as he took damage from his formidable foe. "You're not bad for a nightmare," he spat. "Foolish little kitten! I'm the embodiment of fear, and you'll find out soon enough how bad I can be!" she warns with venom dripping from her words. Before she could make heads or tails of the situation, the volcano erupted in the background. Klonoa chuckles in triumph. "They did it!" he cheers. "It doesn't matter. Once I'm rid of you, one little victory will only be the door to a brand new world of fe-" she doubles over herself before she could utter another word. "Wha- What is happening to me?!"

The guardian flashes a fanged grin towards the nightmare. "She feels like she has won. She's not afraid of you anymore!" he laughs. Just as if to emphasize his point, the skies started to return to its bright blue hue. "No! Not sunlight!" she screams before trying to flee into the dark recesses of the forest. "Oh no you don't," the traveler warns. He shoots a concussive force strong enough to trip the nightmare just shy of the forest. The sun shines in all its brilliance and glory. The nightmare begins to sizzle in the sunlight before it was reduced to nothing but wisps of darkness.

Klonoa glances off towards the mountain before deciding to pick up the dreamwalker. Candy and Vanellope walk along the same road until they come across the savior of the dream world. "Dad, who's he?" Before the king could introduce him, Klonoa waves his hands in denial. "No need for introductions." Candy looks at the young hero with confusion. "Why not? Even when I met you, you were against any form of introduction."

Klonoa gives a half-hearted laugh. "What part of me being a _forgotten dream_ did you miss? Anytime I've tried to befriend someone that I've helped, they act as if they've never met me. It started off with my life in my game. My friends aren't my friends, my grandpa isn't my grandpa, and I don't even exist in the world that I thought was my home. I've helped dreamwalkers in their nightmares, and they don't remember me either. She won't remember me. You won't remember me. No one ever does, and no one ever will! So why bother getting close to anyone if you're going to be disappointed time and time again?!" Candy offers a supportive hand on the boy's shoulder, but he simply shrugs off the sentiment. "We better get going," he says before waving his hand. The sound of a songstress could be heard throughout Vanellope's dream. "Her dream world is being reborn. She, and anyone else who was aware of her nightmare, won't remember it. It can't hurt her anymore."

The two travel until they enter Candy's dream realm. Klonoa kicks the ground with spaced out expression. "You won't remember this, but thanks for adventuring with me. Even though it was dangerous, you still went. I admire that. Dreamwalkers usually ignore me after they find out I'm not a threat," he purrs a bit. "No problem Klonoa," the king smiles. "I guess this is goodbye." Klonoa held up his ring, and with his departing words, he vanished.

Candy awakens from his dream with a start. He takes deep, even breaths as he observes his surroundings. He was in his room, which was normal, so why was he shaken? He winces at a sharp pain he was feeling from his leg. He gently removes the sheet to find a bite mark shaped wound on his leg. As he trails his finger on the wound, something comes to realization. "_Klonoa!_" he whispers in a hushed tone.

Before he could think too long on the boy, he ambles over to his daughter's room. He tiptoes into the room, once he makes it passed her door. Vanellope was still asleep. To his relief, she was sleeping soundly. She mutters something about Ralph drinking her root beer. He rolls his eyes at the oddity of her new dream, but at least it was peaceful. His thoughts went back to the cat-like dream traveler. "_Klonoa. You said I would forget you, but I don't. Why?_" he asks himself as he walks up and down the halls of the castle.

A memory flashes by. "_I've helped dreamwalkers in their nightmares, and they don't remember me either,_" Klonoa's voice reverberates in his head. "_Helped dreamwalkers in their dreams,_" Candy mutters in reply. "In their dreams! We weren't in my dream. He didn't help me in my dream. So that means..." he comes up with a plan. "I'll have to personally show my appreciation at sunrise."

* * *

Vanellope stretched out with a refreshed look on her face, almost as if she's had the right amount of sleep that her body desperately deserves. A banging noise comes from her door. "Vanellope open up! We've got papers and pranks to do!" the voice of Sweetie Jill said in a sing song tone. The president chuckled at the odd combination of work and play, but she admired that about the candy girl. It inspired an idea. She would surprise her friend when the time is right, but it could wait for now. She opens the door to let the girl in.

The sugar racer takes care of her morning hygiene before getting dressed for the day. _Same old clothes, same old boots._ "How do I look?" she asks. "Like someone I'd vote for," Sweetie Jill said with two thumbs high above her head. They both laughed as they walked down the hall. Unaware that someone else was roaming the halls, Vanellope trips over a small candy citizen. She glances from her weird sitting spot towards a gummy bear in a candy dress suit. "Good morning Your Presidency. I'm sorry for my lack of attentiveness. I was just on my way to the throne room to meet your mother._ I was planning on talking with your father, but he said he had business outside of the game to tend to,_" the gummy senator says as she dusts off her clothes.

Vanellope gives Sweetie Jill a look of disbelief. "_Business my left foot,_" she rolls her eyes at the excuse. "Well carry on. I'm just going to fill out some work and head off to my training," she says before turning to leave. The gummy bear woman calls out to her before she could get a step further from her. "Wait, wait, wait!" Vanellope turns around with a puzzled look. "I need to discuss something with you," she looks at Sweetie Jill, "... privately." The brunette rolls her eyes at the privacy portion of the statement. "_Pfft. Sweetie Jill won't have to worry about private business matters once I'm president,_" she tells herself, but plays at the senator's game.

Sweetie Jill walks down the hall until she turns a corner. "Fire away Nitro," she says with a smirk. "Please be careful slinging my name like that Miss von Schweetz. The last thing I need is the attention you're father has been having," she flails her sugary nubs at the girl. Vanellope chuckles at the wary nature of the _candy_, but who could blame her? Her president pulled some very generous strings to help her. "Relax _Sen. Chew_, no one knows about you or your brothers, and what do you mean about the attention my father has been having?"

Sen. Chew looks beyond the president's long legs to see if anyone was around. "It's the legislative. Things in there haven't rested, even after the game reset to remember your parents. They want you as president, and your father out of power as soon as possible. It's a madhouse in that place! Some of the members are using this as an opportunity to try and convince you to override the veto on the militia. If you don't do something we might enter a state of panic. As is, I'm sticking my neck out for the giddytine ma'am," she says as she wrings her nubby hands. Vanellope groans at the unearthed problem. "I appreciate it Nitro. I'll figure something out. We have no need for a military, and they're going to have to get it through their thick skulls that daddy isn't your brother!"

The candy senator tries to hush the girl's loud statement. "_Ixnay on the otherbray!_" she hissed lowly. "Sorry about that. This information is a headache to take in," the teen says with a sigh. "It's not your fault Miss von Schweetz, but they do have a point. What if a threat comes up?" she asks. "We can handle it. If we form a military, people will ask questions on why we need a military. They might go into a panic or think that the government is using armed forces as a way to have power over the people," she rolls her eyes at her logic, but it's a possibility she didn't overlook. "If you insist. _I wish you all the luck in the arcade on this problem._" Vanellope watches the candy run off towards the direction of the throne room.

* * *

Candy drives through the port to Game Boreal Station in search of a certain game. He was having a hard time locating the game. Whenever he asked someone about the small dream traveler, he only received confused looks from the inhabitants of the station. He knew he was going to regret his action, but he was going to confront the GBS Surge Protector.

"Name?" she asks with a less than interested expression. "_I think Sour Bill might fall in love with a lifeless woman like her..._" he ponders, but dismisses the idea; he wouldn't wish her upon his closest friend. "King Candy," he answers aloud. "And where are you coming from?" the Surge Protector asked as she scribbles detailed notes on the man. "Game Central Station: Sugar Rush," the racer sighs. "And where are you heading?" she asks. "That's the thing. I can't find where I'm looking for. Can you point me to a game called _Klonoa: Door to Phantomile_?" For a moment, the king thought that she wouldn't be able to know anything about Klonoa, and thus he would never find the boy, but she points to the _Wii_ gate. "Thank you ma'am."

"Proceed..." the Surge replies as if he didn't say a word to her. "_No wonder you're single._"

Once he entered the _Wii_ gate, he drives along the expansive sub region with a form of determination. Candy arrives to a gate that reads _Klonoa: Door to Phantomile._ His pristine white car roves over the terrain in search of the boy, but he comes up short; until he heard a familiar mewl coming from a field. He pulls over, and puts his car in park.

Candy walks the forest as he comes across another strong gust of wind. A pair of amber eyes lay upon the king before he reveals himself. Klonoa lowers his ring, but doesn't look happy to see him. "Easy Klonoa, it's me, Candy." The boy immediately drops his glare. "You said my name! Wait, of course you did. My name's on the gate," his ears wilt. "No need for the gate. I came to offer my gratitude for helping my daughter last night," he reassured the cat.

Klonoa's tail sways in interest. "You remember? No one ever remembers me," he runs up to the man and gives him a hug. The king rubs the boy against his head with affection. "I found a loophole. You saved my daughter's dream, not mine," the racer replies. "Then that means that only your daughter's memory of me was reset when the songstress sang the _Song of Rebirth_!" the dream traveler realizes with a genuine smile.

"You're my hero kiddo, and I came here to offer my gratitude. I hope you don't mind it being in the form of friendship," Candy says with a smirk. "Of course not! You're the first character to remember me after a dream. This is going to be fun!" he jumps for joy. The monarch wags his finger at the energetic youth. "Not just yet. The arcade will be open in two hours. We have a job to do. How about we get to know each other a little more after hours? We can go into Burger Time. My treat." Klonoa nods with enthusiasm. _His first true friend.  
_

* * *

(**A/N:** I hope this chapter makes some sense to those who haven't played Klonoa: Door to Phantomile, and if not, I'd advise you to either play the game or watch a let's play/walkthrough. Sorry for the lack of Jawbreaker, but I think the following chapters will make up for it. Enjoy. :3)


	15. I Don't Love You

**Disclaimer:** "Wreck-It Ralph" and all characters related to the movie belong to The Walt Disney Company, and/or their respective gaming companies. Wreck-It Ralph was created by Rich Moore, Phil Johnston, and Jim Reardon. Level Up! and any characters not associated in their own respective franchise belong to Berserkeroo. All rights reserved.

(**A/N:** So who do you guys think the chapter title is referring to out of all of the pairings in this fic? Ralph/Vanellope, Felix/Tammy, Roxas/Taffyta, Zangief/Snowanna, Almonandro/Candlehead, Bowser/Peach, or is it a pairing that you guys won't see coming? Unfortunately, you'll have to wait for the next chapter to figure out who.)

* * *

Ralph watches as the Nicelanders throw him from the roof of the skyscraper, leaving him to plummet to his fate; to fall in the small lake nearby. A spritz of water trickles from the gap between his incisors. He geared himself up for another round, before Litwak called closing time. His massive arms lower in relief after a long day's work.

Felix shakes his hand on another job well done. "So brother, what's up with you and Vanellope lately? She hasn't been around for a few days. Work?" he asks with his usual smile. "Yeah. Her parents said that they could use an extra hand. Must be an awful lot of work since she hasn't even been out of the game." The maintenance man offers a hand of support to his friend. "No need to worry Ralph. I'm sure the workload will slacken up a bit sooner or later. She'll be back to her energetic and lovable self once she's done."

The wrecker nods in confirmation. "It's not that bad. I've had something to keep myself preoccupied anyways. I've been helping Doronjo out and we've been getting to know each other more. I think Bad-Anon is really helping her out," he informs with a hint of pride on his face. Felix smiles at his success. "Good for you! That's quite the accomplishment if I say so myself. Well, I'm about to spend some time with the missus. When Vanellope comes out of her game, maybe we can go on a double date or something?"

"I'd like that."

* * *

On the other side of Game Central Station, the racers, surfers, and bikers came to a complete stop at the finish line of the massive track; each character was giving one another a pat on the back on another game day well done. Vanellope leans against her car in wonder. Her eyes drift to the bright skies. _Have they always been this bright?_ She shook her head at the thought. Sure the weather changed in this game, but why would something like sunlight be a concern to her. Her pondering didn't go unnoticed since she felt the touch of a leather glove touching her on the shoulder.

Flashing in the sunlight, a pair of hazel eyes went to the familiar source. "You okay princess?" She rolls her eyes at the comment. No matter what she does, the guy was so adamant on calling her the irritable title; guess it should be no surprise — his candy theme was rock candy. _A hard candy makes a hard head._ The thought made her laugh on the inside, but she kept her humor to herself. "I'm fine. Are we heading to the courtyard or what?" she asks with a smirk. The young racer grew to appreciate his company over her days in her game. He was considerate, albeit a bit annoying at times, but that's something that she liked about him.

Roxas gasps as he stumbles back in false-awe. He leans upon her car for support. "You're actually happy about training? Oh where have I failed! Someone has kidnapped my president and is posing as a terrible imposter," he says with dramatics. Taffyta shakes her head as she slips into his arms. "Hey babe, I can't make it today. Rancis wants to hang out in Game Oriental Station," she says before giving the biker a peck on the cheek. He scowls, but lets the matter go; it's not like he can dictate her life or anything. "Have fun Taffy."

Vanellope bumps the ambassador on the hip with a smirk. "Come on. Dad said that I'm done with all the massive amount of work after I'm done with you," she jumps into her car and snaps on her goggles. "I knew there was a motive behind your eagerness. Go and abandon me too Van," he flips his black bangs. "Get on your motorcycle drama king." The two make their way to the castle, easily accessing the courtyard.

Roxas removes his armor as they prepare for their session. He was impressed at her zeal. When Taffyta and Vanellope tag teamed against him, they worked in ways that gave the combatant a run for his coinage. "Ready?" he teases as he strikes a pose. "Naturally."

That was all he needed to hear to engage her in combat. He comes in with an open palm towards her diaphragm, but she ducks under the swing and snaps up to return the blow. Her eyes giving off the mindset of a viper ready to strike, and that's just what she did. _Her fluid motions had improved_, he noted as he barely misses the strike. He came in with a more primal form of martial arts — monkey style; _cunning, fury, and agility_. He leaps over her and tries to sweep under her feet, but she rolls with the sweep and comes at him with a hand swipe that trips his leg that centered his gravity. "_I'm impressed,_" he mentally congratulated her.

She had another surprise in for him, as she switches from snake style to tiger style. Her moves came in for bold, precise hits as she comes at him with hit for his midsection, but the more experienced fighter saw the attack coming. Roxas changes to crane style. _Speedy, evasive maneuvers._ He whirls around her hit, and grabs her by her arm. He knocks her back with one of his lighter hits, after all, it was training, not a real match.

Vanellope takes that moment to land a kick on the back of his knee. He stumbles and topples over his sparring partner. He manages not to crush her by catching himself by the palms of his hands. "Way to go Rockhead," she mutters as she shifts her position; unknowingly pushing herself a few centimeters from his face. "Whoa!" they both chorus as the sudden closeness.

Something started to stir in the base of their brain, and it began to travel to the pit of their stomach, then back to their eyes. Imaging starts to flash over their eyes, as bright cyan coats over their irises. Unknown images — or better yet — memories start to play over their frozen state. They were hanging out, nothing unusual about that right? _Oh how wrong they were._

Vanellope was the first to snap out of the bizarre translucent state. "_What the heck was that?_" she ponders as the _images_ fade from her sight. She pulls her hand in front of Roxas and begins to snap repeatedly in front of his face. "Hey. Sugar Rush to Roxas. Wakey wakey," she says as he begins to leave the odd state. He shakes his head as looks at her with confusion. "What the heck was that?" he asks her. "Don't know. Now get off of me," she says more in a demanding voice.

The ambassador rolls off to the side, still sitting as he looks out to the castle walls in confusion. _Seriously, what the heck was that?!_ He sighs, but decides to drop the unwanted images. "I think we can just cancel early. I need to take a ride," the biker says before rushing off to his motorcycle. Before she could even dust herself off, her friend was airborne and out of her calling range. "_This was definitely... odd._"

* * *

Ralph was holding a conversation with Malefor near a wall in Game Central Station. The massive dragon was new to the arcade, although his game has been out for a while, but he felt the urge to confront the wrecker once he heard about the villain group. "Just come in whenever you want. It's not mandatory, but I recommend talking to someone just in case. Bad guy bashing isn't tolerated nowadays, but we do have stragglers — and since your game is new to the arcade, there might be a few characters that aren't adjusted to the concept yet."

"**_Sound like a great way to meet characters. I'll think about it,_**" the purple dragon says in his husky, corrupted voice. He peers over the shoulder of the tall human to see a small female sneaking towards them. She didn't appear dangerous, but he was curious about what she was about to do. Before he could make heads or tails of it, she vanished. "_What in Warfang?!_"

Vanellope lands a few inches above her lover, and makes an effort to land as roughly as she could on his shoulder. "Ralph!" she shouts in his ear. She gives him one of her pounce hugs with more vigor than usual. The wrecker almost jumped out of his skin at her sudden presence, but eventually relaxes to enjoy the embrace. "You're finally free from working?" he asks with a smile. "Yup. Dad gave me the big thumbs up. We can hang out all day today," she settles onto his shoulders. "Unless you didn't miss me and have plans with your friend here?" Her teasing gaze falls upon him.

Malefor, still confused on the development decided to take advantage of the moment to leave the couple. "**_We've just met today. I've made plans to explore the arcade for the day. I'll see you at the next meeting,_**" he says before beating his long wings, and soon taking off in a different direction. "Now that leaves you all to myself," she says in a sultry voice. The statement alone made the villain gulp. Vanellope snickers at him. "Relax Knucklehead. I'm sure Tammy and Felix miss me too."

Sgt. Calhoun sips from the root beer that was placed in front of her not that long ago. With her shift taken over by another soldier, she decides to spend it the best way she knew how; with her husband. Her blue eyes shimmer towards the man in front of her. It was always soothing to have him around her after a hard day of working. He was going on about something related to her speed demon friend, until he flashed a smile over her shoulder. "_Who the hell was he smiling at?!_" she growls. The space marine turns around in her seat to see Ralph and Vanellope coming up to their table.

"Hi there Vanellope! Finally free from work I see," Felix said in his usual perky voice. Vanellope takes her place Ralph and Tamora, and orders a drink for herself. "Yeah, it's been a weird couple of days. It was an avalanche of paperwork, but I managed to find something to keep myself occupied. I made a new friend and Roxas made sure to come by a few times on _official business,_" she says with air quotes. "Well it's good to have you back on board private. I saw we ditch this joint and have some real fun," the commander says with a hint of mischief in her sapphire eyes.

"Tammy's being mischievous? What the heck did I miss while I was away?" Vanellope grins as she takes her drink down in one go. "Let's go!"

* * *

For the first time in a long time, King Candy was out and about in the arcade with a friend that didn't have anything related to politics. Klonoa seemed more than excited about going to _Burger Time._ He seldom left his station so this was a big change for him; one that he liked very much. The dream traveler's back hackles a bit, making him turn around. No one was there. He shrugs it off. Panning out of his view, a blue clad raccoon twirls his cane about mischievously. "Burgers huh? Sounds right up my alley."

The figure leaps from his perch down to the ground. Again, Klonoa glances back. Candy halts his movement, and looks at his comrade. "Are you okay Klonoa?" he asks with raised grey eyebrows. The cat character gives a firm nod. "Yeah, but I think we're being followed," he says as he observes his surroundings. "You're probably just a little nervous about leaving your station outside of work," the king pats him on the back. The guardian gives a disconcerting whine, but lets his _paranoia_ go._ He was going to have fun, and nothing was going to get in the way of it._

The pair wait for the train to Game Central Station. The cunning master of disguise pulls his cap from over his eyes. His disguise was perfect for slipping around the place with little detection. His brown eyes fall upon the two. The train was coming and now was a good to strike. Swift as ever, he makes a sprint towards the unsuspecting duo. His cane pulls at their pockets, and he sleekly pulls out the pair of wallets. "Hey! Stop thief!" Klonoa yowls as he gives pursuit.

"I don't think so kid. Thief's got to eat too," Sly Cooper says with his trademark smile. "Ta-ta," he salutes before unleashing a smoke bomb. The bomb left Klonoa, who was in the midst of the cloud, blinded, but Candy noticed the culprit as he slinks away. "Hey you! Give us back our money," he runs after him. The infamous Cooper looks over his shoulder and decides to go into a full on sprint.

Sly comes to an abrupt halt, and shifts direction. He jumps onto a pole, then climbs up until he ninja spires onto the peak. Soon after, he jumps from the top of the pole onto a pole that leads up the massive clock tower. Klonoa glares up at the escaping con artist, and pulls out his weapon of choice. He shoots wind from the accessory, knocking a few nuts and bolts from the slender, metallic pipe, and knocks the thief off of his balance. "_This kid doesn't give up,_" the raccoon notes with a smirk. The metal in his grip began to let out a loud wail. His eyes snap up as the pipe begins to wilt. "Oh great..."

The bandit's grip soon loosens until he is sent plummeting to the ground. He lands harshly on his back. His eyes spiral in discombobulation while he gains his bearings. The two were already on him before he could get to his feet. He offers a sheepish grin as the two snatch their wallets back with a scowl. "Let's go Candy. We'll have to catch the next train if we want to get something to eat," Klonoa says as they turn to leave the racoon.

Sly offers a half-hearted apology to the departing pair. "Sorry about that. It's kind of hard in my game right now. In a game where stealing is your job, you tend to make too much money, and then..." he looks off to the side. "So your game is suffering from a recession?" Candy deduces. "Exactly. The Sly coins aren't worth much anymore, and if we don't use any other currency we don't have enough to get by. I may be a thief, but I'm an honorable one. I don't steal from commoners so since you looked like a king, I thought that you didn't need the money. I have a gang of misfits that are like family; _and one of them eats his own weight in food,_" he mutters the latter in fondness.

Klonoa huffed with his chest puffed out. "King or not. It's still no reason to steal. You could have just asked!" he retorts. "I know, but what's a guy to do?" the con artist replies with a scorn look. "Why don't you start pawning off some of your goods? Spending will only hurt your game so make due with working a different job, one that will stimulate the economy in your game," Candy offers his suggestion. The blue capped anti-hero jumps back in disgust. "I'll have to work?! My ancestors will be ashamed of me, and that's bad considering that I get to see them during gameplay," he mutters. "You work to steal, so making an honest living won't hurt. You did say that there is honor amongst your cohorts so live up to it," the dream traveler says as though it was obvious.

"You don't seem like a bad fellow, so how about I help you out? We can discuss details at Burger Time. I'll buy you a burger," the monarch says with a smirk. Sly pulls the two close. "I think I can really get to liking you guys," he says as they walk together to the food-based game.

* * *

Darkness obscures the once vivid sky of the sugary game. The royal family settled in their massive stronghold. The youngest out of the trio, stares out of her window with a smile on her face. She was able to hang out with her boyfriend, her closest friends, and her life seemed to continue on an upward spiral. The girl stifles a yawn before pulling on her soft pajamas. She nestles between her sheets and lulls herself to sleep.

On the other side of the game, Taffyta makes her way from the gate, towards her home in Pastille. Rancis still wanted to be out in the arcade, but he wasn't on the roster the next day so it didn't make much difference whenever he came in. A tall, lone figure leans against a familiar black and amethyst colored motorcycle. She walks over to the familiar silhouette with a smile. "Well aren't you sweet. Were you waiting for me to get back in the game?" she says as she stops a few steps shy of him.

Roxas never gives her a reply and pulls her into his arms and starts to stroke her shoulder length hair. His mind goes to what happened earlier that day. The visions were starting to bug him more and more as the day progressed. They frequented once he departed from his lesson, and an irrefutable desire disturbed him down to his coding. "_Roxas?_" she mutters as she tries to get his attention. He began to mutter something that was muffled by her hair. Taffyta listens in more as they became more clear. "_I love you,_" he mumbles in distress. It sounded like he trying to convince himself of the fact more than her. "_What's wrong with you?_" the racer asks herself.

* * *

(**A/N:** So something's wrong with Roxas eh? And what about those images they were seeing. Hm... sounds suspicious, don't it? On another note: I am on a writing roll this month! XD I've got the rough drafts of the next couple of chapters written in my phone so expect an update within a week. As always, enjoy the chapter.)


	16. Torn Between Two Lovers

**Disclaimer:** "Wreck-It Ralph" and all characters related to the movie belong to The Walt Disney Company, and/or their respective gaming companies. Wreck-It Ralph was created by Rich Moore, Phil Johnston, and Jim Reardon. Level Up! and any characters not associated in their own respective franchise belong to Berserkeroo. All rights reserved.

(**A/N:** This title oughta get some of you people curious. I'm sure most of you can already read through what's happening right now, and bonus points to those who do. Decently sized chapter with plenty of stuff going on. I warn you that the next couple of chapters will be nothing, but drama enduring goodness. Also, my birthday is coming up in a couple of days, and my sister is coming to visit, so I'll be busy for a while. I won't be able to post the next chapter until sometime next week.)

* * *

The fierce engine of competition roars throughout the arcade. The young president smirks with every intention on winning, and since she was right behind the player's choice in avatar — Gloyd Orangeboar — she just might have her way. Her finger hovers over her arsenal button, until she feels a strong impact knock both characters out on the sideline; it was Taffyta Muttonfudge.

Vanellope slowly composes herself as the auto crew pulls the two cars from the sidelines and back into the race. _Who dared to crash into her; especially when she was so close to winning?!_ The answer to her question was soon answered once she saw that the auto crew was hauling her racing rival onto the track. _That's odd. Taffyta never crashes, let alone, into another avatar._ She paused for a second to glance at her friend, but decided to talk to her after hours. Almost as if hearing her thoughts, Mr. Litwak called the arcade to a close once the player finished his race.

The black haired racer walks up to the distraught and distracted blonde. She taps the girl onto the shoulder with a hint of concern. Taffyta turns to her with shocked expression. "Oh, uhm, hi Vanellope. Sorry about crashing into you. I was just..." she was thinking for the right word. "Distracted?" her friend coins in for her. "Yeah that."

"Why? You don't ever crash. Well, unless you're being controlled by a player," Vanellope amends with glance towards the other racers. "I don't want to talk about it out in the open, but just know it has something to do with Roxas," the strawberry themed racer says with unease. The pair go into their respective cars and make their way to Sugar Rush castle; soon making their way into the _presidential suite_.

"What's got you so rattled over Roxas? You're as pale as a marshmallow." Taffyta sits on the dark magenta sheets. "The weirdest thing happened to me last night. I was coming in from hanging out with Rancis, and there he was, waiting." Vanellope cocks her head to the side. "What's so weird about that? It's kind of sweet that he was waiting for you to get in the game safely." Her friend shakes her head in denial. "That's what I thought too, but that wasn't the weird part. When I got near him, he grabbed me for no reason, and started to mutter something. He kept saying _I love you._"

Vanellope was basically jumping from where she stood. "Isn't that a good thing? You've been crushing on him from day one, and now he's saying he loves you! Shouldn't you be happy?" she says with an odd mixture of glee and perplexity. "Of course I wanted to be happy, but it's not that he said it, it's _how_ he said it. He sounded like he was trying to tell himself that more than me! I think he's interested in someone else. What if he's cheating on me?!" she started to break down on the edge of the bed.

"_Oy vey!_" she thought while rubbing the back of her neck. "_I should have brought back up for this one._" Vanellope looks back at her distraught friend before nearing her. She pulls her into a hug. She was going to cheer her up in the only way she knew how. "You think that goober is gutsy enough to cheat on my rival?" she asks as if she were going to laugh at the statement. "Even someone with rock candy for brains knows a good woman when he sees one." Taffyta looks at her with dubiety. "He's probably been thinking about it for a while, and he's not sure about his feelings. He might love you so much that he's short circuited his brain." Both of them start to snicker at the statement. "Thanks Van, I really needed to hear that, but what if-" A hand with a fingerless glove came a few inches shy of her face. "Ah, ah, ah! There are no what-ifs. If that Rockhead was stupid enough to look elsewhere, then I'll keep an eye out for whoever the unfortunate chump is. He'll wish he never taught me how to fight after I'm through with her."

"I don't think violence is necessary, but thanks anyways. You really are my best friend." Vanellope lifts her head in triumph. "You act as if _me_ being the _best_ is something new?"

* * *

Today was going to be a good day according to the wrecker. He was going to start off the night game jumping, which seemed more like going on a double date with his friends, but that wouldn't be for long. He had every intention on taking his sweetheart to a secluded area to rekindle his desire for her affection. Nothing could possibly ruin a day like that, right? _Wrong._

A feminine voice calls out to him from his game's gate; it was Doronjo again. He smiles as she waltzes towards him. She was an excellent friend, and a good listener when it came to talking about the more mature topics. "I was wondering if you wanted to hit the arcade again? Maybe go out to a bar in _The Sims_ or maybe going out dancing," she says in a more cheerful tone than usual.

"No can do Doronjo. I'm going game jumping with a few friends today," he informs, pulling the straps of his overalls. "Ouch. You wounded me Ralph. I can't hang out with your other friends?" Doronjo says with a pout on her face. The villain ruffles his hair with an apologetic smile. "Didn't think of it like that. I guess they wouldn't mind you coming along."

"Good. Where are we heading to today?"

Felix came up from behind the pair with a grin. The woman glances down at the diminutive man, but returns the kind gesture. "So you must be Ralph's friend, Doronjo, that I've heard so much. Nice to meet you ma'am. I'm Fix-It Felix Jr.," he says as he shakes hands with the tall, slender beauty. "The pleasure is mine. It's nice to meet one of Ralph's friends. I think it's a good idea that I get on good terms with the people that Ralph cares so much about," she says as she flips her long locks.

Calhoun soars in from above on her hoverboard. She had someone holding onto her waist apparently. The marine slowly makes her descent, revealing that she had Vanellope von Schweetz on the back of her board. Doronjo's smile slightly faltered after seeing the girl. _What the heck was **she** doing here?!_ The brunette dismounts the board with grace and elegantly places her hands behind her back. "Be calm commoners, for I have arrived," she says in a surprisingly haughty tone. Her cohorts eye the commander with a look of scrutiny. She shrugged at their glance since she was as confused as they were.

Doronjo simply let the matter slide and held her hand out for an exchange of greeting. "Hello, I'm one of Ralph's friends from Bad-Anon. My name is Doronjo from the game _Totsunoko vs. Capcom_," she introduces as she finishes their shaking hands. "Welcome to the big guns Cherry. The name's Sgt. Tamora Jean Calhoun. I'm from the game _Hero's Duty_." The mention of the name caused the youngest member of the group to snicker. The blonde rolls her eyes at the mockery. She was used to it by now. "And last but not least, I'm Vanellope von Schweetz; ruler of the game _Sugar Rush_."

After the exchange of greetings, the quintet was headed off towards their first game jumping destination — _Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest_. Vanellope looks around the game with immense criticism. "_Oh my mod, there is dirt and ocean everywhere! And we're going to have fun in this game? Ew,_" she cringes at the idea. She shakes her head at the bizarre thought. "_What the heck is wrong with me? I love getting down and dirty._" Her eyes went to Doronjo who seemed to think more along her former line of thought. She couldn't bring herself to pity her though. _Consider it initiation into the group._

Felix was the first to jump into one of the levels. "Yar, me mateys! There is plunder aplenty ripe for the taken! Shall we make sail and go into the great blue yonder?" he says with a giggle at his pirate speak. The mention of treasure seemed to perk the interest to their newest recruit. _Pirate treasure equals gold!_ "Aye aye Capt. Hammertime! Full speed ahead," Vanellope shouts from her position on Ralph's shoulder. "Can't do much from a perch lazybones," he comments. "Hey I'm the navigator and you are my crow's nest. I don't have to get down unless the captain tells me to," she says in finality. "Can we quit with all the pirate talk? It's making this scalawag nauseous," Calhoun groans at their goofiness. "You heard my first mate. Lets cut the chatter and get down to what matters," the maintenance man says as they advance into level. The space marine shakes her head.

The foregoing ardor on locating treasure was gradually diminishing in the gold-lusting villainess. The snake, she could handle, but there was no way in Litwak's arcade that she would ever mount an enormous spider. Calhoun smacks her on her back with a teasing grin. "What's the matter rookie? You said your heels were killing you right? You're not arachnophobic are ya?" Vanellope laughs at her discomfort. "That's it. I want to be on his shoulder!" Doronjo says as she climbs onto the vacant shoulder. The remainder of the group snickers at her discomfort, but trek on until they finish the game.

After the adventure she had, the villainess had no intention of ever going into any _Donkey Kong Country_ game, even though she spent most of the adventure on Ralph's shoulders. The quintet decided to be fair on the newbie, and went to a game where she would be able to relax more. "I think we should go into _Super Smash Bros. Brawl_. We can probably catch a few character in a training match," Ralph suggested. "Sweet! I'm calling in bets the second we get in there!" Vanellope shadowboxes the air. "You're on Hotwheels!" Calhoun shakes hands with the girl.

* * *

"PK Thunder!" Ness channels his psychokinetic abilities into a finishing move. Sonic tries to jump out of range, but the attack follows his every move. The blue hedgehog grunts as he spirals wildly, fading into the background. Bowser comes up from behind the boy with a vicious growl. The psychic had a high percentile of damage, and the Koopa's strength just might do him in. A brown blur cartwheels, and makes a daring assist to his fighting partner. Diddy Kong took out his peanut popguns to distract their oversized foe, until Ness gathered strength from a _Smash Ball_. "**_PK Starstorm!_**"

The massive villain's eyes visibly shrunk at the announcement of the boy's Final Smash. It was moments like this when he hated being programmed to have his large mass, and not being able to use his true powers. There was nowhere to run, and no way to defend, so he took his loss with silent dignity. Bowser groans out, as he is sent skyward. Vanellope couldn't believe how such small characters could coordinate so well against a powerful villain like Bowser, and a swift hero like Sonic. A sigh escapes her as she gives Sgt. Calhoun six coins. "Don't underestimate the little guy!" the commander says as she takes her prize.

The announcer introduces the next combating pair. "Lucario and Ganondorf vs. Princess Peach and Princess Zelda!" Vanellope's interest piqued at the mention of the princesses that she's come to admire. "I'm betting on Peach and Zelda taking this. Double or nothing," she says with a smirk. Calhoun looked between the opponents. She felt as though there was something that she wasn't in on, but she decided against questioning the odds;_ they were damsel in distress princesses after all._ "Alright. I'll take that bet." The two shake on it as the announcer makes the countdown. "Three, two, one! Go!"

Lucario agilely moves across the stadium arena, his paws were set aglow with a threatening aura. He wouldn't relent on the two just because they were female. After fighting them on a day-to-day basis, he had to learn it the hard way on not taking either of them lightly. He glances at his partner to see how he was faring against the infamous princess pair. _So far so good._

Out in the crowd, Vanellope seemed to be the loudest advocate for the princesses, earning herself a strange glance from her band of adventure seekers. "What? Can't a girl cheer on her fellow princesses?" she asks with questioning glance towards them. "We're not saying you can't, but it's just... weird. You despise all things related to being a princess, so why cheer them on?" Ralph asks. She contemplates on telling them about her time at the princess social luncheon, but where's the fun in that? "You'll see soon enough once you get these two hot under the collar." Doronjo glances towards the girl with a skeptical look. She was with the marine on this bet.

Ganondorf charges in with his elbow, instantly clipping Zelda in the cheek. The princess tumbles backwards, landing harshly on her back. She spits off to the ground. Her eyes rise to look up at the tan, gargantuan man. The prepossessing sapphire color, that usually sparkled within her eyes, transcended into a violent ruby color. Vanellope chuckles. She knew what that usually meant._ Zelda is getting angry._ The brunette princess growls in frustration as a blue light engulfs her figure; immediately turning her into her alter ego — Sheik. While the group was trying to wrap their mind around what just happened, Peach pulls a bat out of her hammerspace, and whacks Lucario in an uppercut like fashion.

While the jackal-like Pokémon was down, the transformed_ male_ skids in with a sweep of the feet. The dual-type became enraged. It didn't matter though. The increase in the damage suited his ambitions; he would be able to deal more damage with his percentage as high as it was. He charges up his Aura Sphere with every intention on obliterating the pink princess, however, he didn't stand a chance against her. As he releases the attack, she pulls out a Toad to deflect the attack, immediately sending it back at him. Lucario wails out as crash lands through his partner, and flops a few times until he shamefully plunges off the arena. Peach peers over the ledge, giving the fallen fighter a farewell wave. "Bye bye," she says in her ever-sweet tone. Ganondorf was standing to fight the two women alone. "_Just freaking great,_" he mutters as the duo cast a wave towards the audience.

Calhoun drops her jaw at the brawl. It happened so quickly. If she had blinked she would have missed everything. Her ego refused to acknowledge Vanellope. She had a suspicion that the girl was giving her a mocking '_I told ya so_' look. Ralph glances down to the sidelines. He noticed that Bowser, Bowser Jr., and the Koopalings made up a cheering section for the Mushroom princess; each of them holding up a letter that spelled _**GO PEACH GO**_. He was happy that the _family_ was on stable grounds.

Sheik and Ganondorf were having a trade of jabs over who would take possession of the Smash Ball hovering right above them. Peach taps her finger against her chin. If she decided to grab the Smash Ball herself, Zelda would probably be irritated that she didn't get to finish him, but if she did nothing and Ganondorf gained possession of it, she would probably be furious that he might get the chance to defeat them. _Decisions, decisions._ Sheik shot a chain out towards the villain, and took the Smash Ball.

The masked warrior pulsated with a spectrum of bright colors. _He_ pulled back on _his_ bowstring, as a massive arrow of light gathers at arrow rest. Ganondorf flew off the arena, and smacked the invisible barrier that protected the audience. All eyes fell upon him as he started to slide down. A sickeningly brutal noise followed his descent; as if nails scratching glass. Felix and Ralph cringed at the slow and painful downfall. "Ouch. That's gotta sting," the wrecker said with a look of pity.

Vanellope cheers over the crowd, hoping to be loud enough for the princesses in the heart of the arena to hear her. Sheik lifts _his_ head towards the familiar voice. _He_ taps _his_ finger on Peach's shoulder and points out their new comrade. They both leisurely wave in her direction. They pull out a pair of teacups and sip on the hot liquid as they make their exit; Sheik casually slips back into _his_ alter ego, Zelda "After a hard day of butt-kicking, they still have room to be classy princesses," she said; mildly impressed.

If she could, Calhoun would have flipped a table at the outcome of the match. "Will that be coins, cash, or gems Tammy?" she heard from the girl beside her. "Next time don't assume that all princesses can't fight back." A lesson learned the hard way by the seasoned marine. She tosses the girl a pouch filled with small gems. "Pleasure doing business with you Sarge."

* * *

Due to the unexpected, recent addition to their game jumping escapades, they decided it would give the woman at least one pick of what they would do for the night. Doronjo picks out a safe, yet fun game for them to enjoy — _Dance, Dance Revolution Wii._ It didn't bother Ralph and Vanellope much; they were planning on taking Felix and Tamora there anyways. As usual, the game was booming, even from the game's entrance.

The group walks into the club with every intent on riveting the crowd with their dance moves. The DJ glances at the entrance as he takes in the new arrivals. He flips the disk, and starts a new song as a tribute of respect. _We level up!_ Vanellope jumps as she recognizes the song. "Oh come on Ralph. Please, please, please," she flashes her puppy dog eyes. _We level up!_ He laughs, but allows her to drag him on the dance floor. _Smash!_ Their friends were left to either follow, or find a place to sit; they chose the former. Each of them dancing with their partner; except Doronjo — who was dancing with random singles on the dance floor. Her moves tantalizing, enticing, and fluent. She was getting the attention of most of the male patrons of the club, but she had her eyes on one man in particular.

Once the song rolled off into its final chord, the music graduates to a more upbeat song; one more malleable to the audience's taste. Vanellope sashays with the beat, hips synchronizing with every step she takes. She gives him a teasing wink as nears him, only to pull away at the last moment.

Ralph pulls Vanellope into his arms as the chorus comes in. The two mix an odd, yet complementary combination of swing and lambada. Doronjo quirks her eyebrow, although it would not be apparent through her mask. "_This won't do at all,_" she ponders with an iniquitous smirk rising on her glossed lips. The blonde pulls in closer to one of the more erratic and energetic dancers; Crash Bandicoot. The marsupial grins at the opportunity to dance with the tall beauty, and did his best to show her his most zany moves, _which was exactly what she wanted._ Slowly inching closer to the couple until they were only a few feet away, she increases her dancing display. Patience was a virtue that she fortunately had.

Vanellope takes more bold steps, not really paying much attention to the woman behind her, until she felt a firm backside collide with her own. She yelps as she staggers forward, almost falling to the ground, however Ralph was a vigilant dance partner. His muscular arm wraps around her midriff preventing the fall. The racer glances back to the _apologetic_ looking villainess and her choice of dance partner. "Sorry about that. You know how it's like to get a little too into the music right? What can I say? This guy's a party animal," she pats the bandicoot on his head. Crash flashes a sheepish smile, but he seemed more interested in busting more moves for the lady next to him. "It's okay. It happens to the best of us. I'll just have to remember to watch where I'm dancing," the brunette says as she is swept back into her boyfriend's arms.

Subsequent to the incident on the dance floor, Vanellope walks off of the mirror-tiled floor, taking a seat next to Calhoun — who recently left the floor not that long ago. The soldier glances from her glass towards the girl. "Where's twinkle toes?" she asked as she bottoms out the remainder of her drink. The younger female points out to him dancing with Doronjo. "And you're okay with him dancing with another woman?" Tamora points out bluntly. "They're just friends Tammy. You let Felix dance with me so what's the big difference?" she asks while looking out to the dancing pair. "The difference was you were younger, and even if you did want dance with Felix at your current age, you're one of my closest comrades and not single," the commander says with more bluntness.

Vanellope rolls her eyes at the woman. She always was the possessive, jealous type. "I don't see you dancing with Felix so what's your excuse?" the racer questions. Calhoun's gaze went towards the bar. "I don't need an excuse. Felix knows how I feel. If I get off of the dance floor, so does he. I've never had to ask him to either," she responds as she twirls her finger around the brim of her glass. The president silently praised the small hero for his perception on his wife's feelings. "Well I didn't want him to feel weighed down. I didn't want to get sweaty out there so I just stopped," she shrugged her shoulders.

Calhoun's eyes promptly snapped towards the girl at the outlandish statement. "Since when do you care if you work up a bit of sweat? Do you have a meeting or are your parents working you too hard?" she was stuck in limbo on whether to laugh or worry. Vanellope takes her eyes off of the dancing pair, and focus in on her militial friend. "What are you talking about?" The commander pushes her glass away. "You've been acting a little weird today. Sort of like a... _princess_," she finishes off with an awkward silence. "Well doy Tammy. I can't change my programming. I'm a princess in a code I didn't create, but a president by choice. Are you saying you have a problem with it?"

"No! You're not acting like yourself today. I was just thinking that you might be sick or something is all." Sgt. Calhoun has a stone cold look in her eyes. Vanellope looks away from her. "_She's being serious..._" she thought as she recalls some of her behavior throughout the day, and she could admit that she was sounding a little... _off_. _She never once addressed her friends as commoners, even as a joke, so why now?_ A light bulb cut on in her head. "_Uh-oh,_" she muttered, just loud enough for the marine to hear.

The brunette hurried from her seat onto the dance floor to grab Ralph by the arm. The wrecker looks at her with a perplexity. "Ralph I don't think I feel well. Can you take me home?" she mutters without looking his way. "Sure," he replies. The villain casts a farewell to his former dance partner before hefting his girlfriend into his arms and leaving the club. Doronjo growled as she watched him go. A familiar marsupial taps her in the arch of her back, asking her for another dance. The villainess just turns away from him, as if she didn't see him, and exits the club. _One way or another, Wreck-It Ralph was going to be hers._

* * *

Vanellope offers Ralph a weak apology for making him take her home, but he brushes his act of kindness off as if it were nothing. She closes the castle doors behind her. Her footsteps increase in tempo, as she gets further into the castle. Closer and closer, she draws near her destination. "_I hope nothing is wrong with me,_" she silently prays.

The teen laces a licorice rope around her waist, then tethers the other end around a knob jutting out of the side of the nearby wall. She typed in the password to the Code Room, and entered with a bated breath. The seemingly infinite room comes to life with scintillating cyan coating the walls. She taps on the heart of the Code Room, instantly opening a panel that splays out the individual code boxes for each inhabitant of the game.

Vanellope scrolls through the list of each character's code, easily finding her own. She taps the screen and puts in the code. Her code box materializes in front of her. She toggled a few of the undesired settings out of the way. She pauses at the section that determined her core traits. Everything seemed in order. Her eyes went to two pulsating red cords; love cords. "Why do I have two?" she mutters aloud. She taps on one of the cords, which lead to a nearby transparent, external box. The box was small since it didn't belong to anyone in the game. _It belongs to Ralph._ That was to be expected. She minimizes the box, and stores it back into her programming.

Now comes the other cord. She taps on it, and it comes to life. The cord slithered and weaved through the mass of blue code, coming to a complete stop in the center of the _Zero G!_ section. Curiosity was no longer the reason behind her snooping. She had to follow the mysterious love cord. She floats across the great expanse until she comes across the code box. It reads _Roxas Popper._

Vanellope did a double take at the name. _Why the heck were their code boxes connected with a love cord?_ She knew that it wasn't a love cord in the crush stage. If it were an unrequited love, the cord would be a motionless pink cord. Besides that point, he was in love with Tafftya, as indicated by the other pulsating red cord going in another direction of the original _Sugar Rush_ section. She returns to her code box with a puzzled look. "_The game doesn't have a malfunction right?_" she ponders with worry.

With more resolve than ever, she combed through her programming until she came across her programmed biography. _It was longer than the last time she read through it._ She skims through the more familiar parts until she comes across Roxas's name being in her biography. Her pace slows down to a haphazardly, unpleasant halt. "That's not possible... I'm not... I can't be his..." She couldn't form a coherent sentence to save her life at the moment. Her eyes went on a small loading bar at the bottom of her status. It jumped up another percentage. She screamed out in terror.

Vanellope hurriedly closed the file and exits the Code Room. Her breath was labored as if she had run a marathon. In all honesty, she would have preferred the marathon to the information that was thrown in her face. "This doesn't happen to me. I'm not like the _others_!"

* * *

(**A/N:** Poor Vanellope. What do you guys think she has seen in the Code Room? I can tell ya right now, it ain't good, and it will cause some heat later on.

**On another note**: I've taken out plenty of scenes and chapters from this story since I didn't see the relevance to the story as a whole, so I decide to devise another story that I'll call **_Welcome To The Bonus Level_**, for all the stuff that is being left out. A few of the things that I've said would be answered earlier on was taken out, and I feel bad that I'm leaving it out. Leave reviews for somethings that you want answered, or think I skimped out on details on. I won't start working on it until _**Level Up!**_ is completed. A few lyrics from the song Level Up were thrown in here too. XD Couldn't help it. Hope you've enjoyed the chapter, and more to come!)


	17. He Loves You Not

**Disclaimer:** "Wreck-It Ralph" and all characters related to the movie belong to The Walt Disney Company, and/or their respective gaming companies. Wreck-It Ralph was created by Rich Moore, Phil Johnston, and Jim Reardon. Level Up! and any characters not associated in their own respective franchise belong to Berserkeroo. All rights reserved.

(**A/N:** The chapter has finally been posted for your viewing pleasure! Quite a bit is going on, but there are more chapters to come. Also, if some of you viewers have found another story called _**Level Up!**_ in the WIR fic browser, don't worry, no one stole my fic. A user called _**ThoriCabrt**_ has asked my permission to translate the fic into Spanish since they enjoy it so much. I figured, that if some of you guys understand Spanish a lot easier than English, then I should be open to allowing more readers to enjoy it without the difficulties of a language barrier. I would have done it if someone would have asked, but my Spanish sucks so now you guys have that option. Just have the standard website link in the search bar, then add s/9570412/1/Level-Up to the end to read in Spanish. Thanks again, ThoriCabrt for translating!)

* * *

After what seemed like hours of doing nothing but paperwork, Roxas was finally done taking everything that held a semblance to work. His armor clinks with every step he took towards the Sugar Rush castle. He felt badly that he skimped out of his duty to train his princess, but in his current instability, he couldn't trust himself in her presence. Thinking of training her made him laugh. She probably didn't mind getting a free day, but not today! Today was a different case. He wouldn't allow his emotional folly deter him from seeing her. Besides, he had an important favor to ask of her.

The ambassador evaded the guards with ease, as usual, and made his way deeper into the castle. He knocks on her bedroom door, hoping that she would be in there. A small lavender colored candy answered the door. "Hello Ambassador Popper," she says with a smile. "I told you to call me Roxas SJ," he rolls his eyes with a smirk. "Is Vanellope in there? I need to talk to her. Kind of important." The candy girl shakes her head, but leaves the two in the room.

Those luminous eyes lifted to his, a silent wave of questioning lie hidden in their depths. In that moment, he wanted to stop all the voices rummaging through his head, just so that he could concentrate on what she would ask of him. If it meant that he could be closer to her, he would do anything to know what was going on in her head. Before his dedication could sweep him well off of his feet, he gathers his composure. "_Not again! Stop it!_" he scolded himself; resisting every urge to slam his head through a wall. "_This is why I need to be here. Let's get this over with before **it** starts up again._"

"Roxas what are you doing here?" she asks rather bitterly. "Whoa, where the heck did that come from? Rude much?" Roxas remarks. Vanellope buries her face behind her hands in frustration. "Sorry, sorry. I just don't need to see you right now. I'm a little stressed," she admits. The biker turns off any and all reason for being angry to pay attention. He takes a step closer as he begins to ask his question, but she holds up a hand. "Stay right where you are!" she orders. _What the heck is her problem?!_

"Is there something I'm not in on? Seriously, I came here to ask you a favor, and I'm being treated like a vegetable," Roxas demands as he stands firm from his distance. "No chip Sherlock! Of course something is wrong. For one Taffyta is upset because she thinks you're cheating on her..." The biker immediately gets defensive. "That's ludicrous! I am not cheating on her! I really care about her!" Vanellope disregards the already known information. "You think I don't know that. I've looked at your love cord in the Code Room; it's as red and lively as usual."

"That's what I was hoping to talk to you about. I want supervised access into the Code Room for a few minutes. I want to check my code box. I think I'm sick or something," he states. "I've already checked. You're not sick." Roxas cups his elbow while splaying his free hand out for further elaboration. "There is something in my... our backstory that I didn't check the last time I was in there. In the game's current storyline, you are my programmed love interest."

He seemed to stall, almost as if he had just taken a punch to his stomach. Whatever the feeling was, it was making him anxious and queasy. For the sake of saving face, he resisted the urge to lurch forward as if he were going to vomit. The tension was starting to come with company in tow. She could sense the apprehension that hindered his movements. _Good. At least he understands the complication that lies beyond this misconception._ "This is insane. I admire practically everything you do, but not like _this_. You are like a little sister, and you're dumping all this crap on me out of nowhere!" he shouts with conviction. "I refuse to fall into this default status!"

Vanellope could see him visibly shaking at the sudden news. "How do you think I feel? I'll end up a sissy princess who needs her knight in shining armor to do everything for her! Our current personalities are starting to reset. I've seen my reboot percentile rise before my eyes. Our personalities have strayed too far from the bases of our programming, and being as close as we are isn't helping in the slightest. The Code Room is doing its job and making sure that we don't cause any unintentional damage that could get us unplugged. I've already felt the change. Tamora saw it too. We cannot stop our thoughts, our actions won't be our own, _and it will never leave you..._" she shudders as she quotes Peach. The girl's eyes meet his to address their options.

Roxas was in an internal turmoil with his love of his game, his love for his girlfriend, and the friendship he has forged with his president. _The programmers be damned for forcing him to choose._ Ultimately, he knew that he would try just about anything that would help his two favorite racers. "We only have two ultimatums: we either surrender to our programming, or spark with our lovers. If we are to have a chance at the latter, we will have to stay away from each other. The closer we are in friendship, the faster our reboot percentage will go," she explains to him. _He was a victim to the sudden initiation in his primal code, and he was being punished! How is that fair?!_ "What? No way! Nu-uh, I don't have to go anywhere!" he growls in protest.

"Then you're willingly choosing to go into default. You're willingly tearing yourself from Taffyta, and tearing me away from Ralph," she states bluntly. She hated when she had to put forth the uncompromisable leader facade, but he was thinking selfishly and irrationally, and that wasn't going to help either one of them. She took a shallow breath as tremendous hurt filled her eyes at his immediate disregard for the emotions of everyone else. He drew a bereft sigh. "As soon as I leave, I'm cutting all ties to you. If I need to do work, I'll send Whipney as my replacement. The only time I'll be near you is whenever you give me a trophy after a round of Zero G! Nothing more, nothing less..."

"Thanks for understanding," she tells him with every bit of appreciation. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. See you whenever the heat dies down," he waves her off before making his leave. After a few moments, Vanellope could hear the soft engine of his bike as it entered the blue skies.

* * *

The sound of the hoverboards resounded consecutively over the finish line. It was a very tight finish. Everlyn owned the show on today's gameplay. The surfers trade their exchange of congratulations around the group that gathered at the track. She gives Vanellope a pat on the back. "Nice speed out there Your Prez-ness. You and Rocky sure did some hustling out there today." The driver turns with a puzzled look. "Who?" she asks as if she has no idea who was being addressed. "You know, Roxas. Your brosef, your biker buddy," she says more clearly. "I have no idea who you're referring to Everlyn." The ambassador points out the male who was talking to another biker. "That fella right there!" Everlyn exasperated. "Don't know him. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a bit of work to do." She jumps into her car before departing from the finish line.

Everlyn taps Taffyta onto the shoulder with a confused look. "What the fudge did bromeo do to the prez? She's fronting like she doesn't know the dude," she says as she watches the small dot down the road. "That is weird. Maybe they got into an argument, and they're giving each other the cold shoulder," Taffyta offers. "Okay, that like, totally makes sense. For a minute there, I thought the cooha lost her memory."

* * *

Obligations towards the labor that came with running an entire game filled the schedule of the president over the course of the week. Nervousness occupied the majority of the reason on why she bothered to shovel more work onto her plate. She couldn't bring herself trust her unstable behavior around her friends. She didn't want to worry them, least of all, Ralph, about her acquired knowledge. No one except Sweetie Jill has seen the bipolarity of her splitting personalities; and that was just how she planned on keeping it. _For crying out loud, it was like she was a boy crazy school girl with her first crush. It was just sickening!_

Sweetie Jill has grown to be a trustworthy companion with her secret, and she took her oath to secrecy seriously. No one entered the girl's room — or the throne room — without the lavender candy requiring validation or expressed permission. It seemed like she would remain in her game, for what felt like forever, or until she could find a better way to hide her _condition_. However, she had friends who were there for her through and through, and this day, her absence wouldn't be tolerated any longer without reason.

Once again, armor plated steps tread down the path to the sugary white castle, but this time they didn't belong to the male biker. The blonde ruffles her shortly cut hair before requesting the location of her highly ranked friend. To her disbelief, the girl wasn't in training in the courtyard. The warrior went through several hallways before coming to the room. Usually she would have no problem entering the teen's room, but she knew that what she had to say would probably put the girl on edge. She knocks.

Sweetie Jill opens the door once more — only this time — the black boots didn't belong to the ambassador. "Uh, Vanellope... There's a tall, scary lady with a gun..." she calls out. Vanellope tells her to let the woman in. "Maybe you didn't hear me. There's a **tall**, **scary** lady **with** a **gun**!" The girl rolls her eyes at the bubbly yet fearful candy, and once again tells her to let the woman in. She props herself up on her elbows at the unexpected visitor. "Any reason for the visit Sarge?"

Sgt. Calhoun marches into the room and finds a seat in one of the cushioned chairs. After making herself comfortable, she addresses her friend. "I came to see how you were feeling. After Wreck-It took you home, I thought you had to have been sick as a veteran after the Civil War to be away for as long you have," she said. "Aw, you _do_ care. You missed me Tammy," Vanellope said in a sickeningly sweet teasing voice. The marine scoffs at the joke; of course she cares for her — she cares for all of the members in her band of adventure seekers. "I see there's no reason for me to think of you being sick considering that you have work piled up to here," she pointed to her neck.

Vanellope looks at all the scattered papers around her bed, dresser drawers, and wardrobe. She cast a look that meant that she was caught red handed. "Spill your guts private. Why have you been gone so long without at least sending a messenger? You know better than that. Felix has been worried sick about you, and Ralph... I'll answer that after you answer me!" Curiosity got the better of her about what was occurring with Ralph, but she couldn't just tell her about her falling into her default status. _Curse her constant curiosity._

If the woman was worried now, she would probably call up a raid for the top minds in the arcade to help her, and she didn't want all the unnecessary attention. The pregnant pause was longer than the woman was willing to stand, but luckily for the girl, the mixed-berry flavored candy stepped in with a saving grace. "As you can see, my highly prestigious president has been busy with work. She just recovered from being sick, and you expect her mind to process the thought of catching up with work _and_ balancing her social life with her friends? The poor thing has been so overworked that I have to help keep this organized chaos machine functional."

The space warrior had to admit that the candy did have a point, and maybe her concern was blocking her better judgment. "You're right. Sorry about that soldier. I just got a little caught up with worry that I thought something was happening that you weren't telling us." Vanellope laughs off the comment nervously. "Me? Hide something from you guys? That's completely inane. You guys are my best friends. I can tell you anything."

Calhoun sighs in relief. Her heart could rest a bit more easily with one of the matters that was bothering her settled. _Now onto the hard part._ Vanellope kicks her legs leisurely as she awaits the remaining news from the blonde. "We might have a bit of a problem — or more like _you might have a problem_," she starts off. "Oh great. What now?" The woman continues with, "Doronjo is the problem. I've been keeping an eye on her since the night at DDR Wii, and she's been trying to replace you."

Vanellope rolls her eyes at the observation. "As if _that_ could ever happen. Doronjo is one of Ralph's friends so if he can trust her so can I. What's gotten into you and her anyways? Threatened by another cute blond in the group?" she says. Calhoun resisted every urge to hurt the girl for that comment, but she knew it wasn't meant as an insult. "I'm not worried about me; this is about you and Wreck-It. Whenever she is with us, she's practically clinging to his arm, and she will ignore our existence unless one of us addresses her. I've already told you that you don't make it far in my game without a good eye and this eye can spot a snake in the grass woman! It's my job as your friend to tell you that there's a torpedo in the water, however, if you chose to stay in the boat like a sitting duck, I can't help if it hits you." The younger cast a glance off to the side with a glare. "I have work that I need to do Tammy."

The soldier's face was stone stiff, but silently nods. "I'll show myself out then. If you have any free time later, we'll be at Tappers," she says before taking her leave. The door silently closes behind her. Sweetie Jill sighs in relief as she listens to the retreating footsteps. "Thanks for the save earlier SJ," she heard from the bed. "No problem Vanellope. I'm your friend and if you want me to keep a secret, I'll take it to my Game Over. As your chosen advisor, I can't just tell anyone private information," she says as she likes the ring to her new title.

Vanellope falls back onto her bed, successfully sending the scattered documents flying askew. _Just great._ As if her life wasn't hard enough right now, but what if she had a point. The internal turmoil was halted at the sound of papers scrapping together. The lavender candy could be heard gathering the papers from the floor. She glances over the edge to confirm that she was correct in her thought. She pulls herself to the edge of the bed. "Sweetie Jill... do you think that Tammy has..."

"A valid point?" Sweetie Jill finishes the sentence as she organizes the papers properly. "Yeah that..." The candy places the documents on the bedside table. "Do you want me to give it to you straight?" she replies as her violet eyes turn to her. "No. Yes... Can you bend it a bit?" the girl asks, already not liking the way that Sweetie Jill was looking at her. "Your friend has a good point, but I don't think there is much to worry about. From what you have told me, Ralph is a complete sweetheart and he's very protective of you. I don't think you have to worry about Dobanjo, or whatever her name is, walking with him into the sunset," she laughs at the thought of anyone topping her president. "... however, I wouldn't trust her as far as I can throw her, and considering I'm a small piece of candy, that isn't very far. If your friend thinks that she poses a threat or that she's trying to come between you and Ralph, then I think you should see it for yourself."

Vanellope ponders the weight of the information. "Alright. I'll go to Tappers and scope things out," she says as she pulls her hoodie over her coral-deep red tank top. After slipping into her boots she turn to Sweetie Jill. "Do you mind summarizing all this stuff for me by the time I get back?" she asks. "It would be my pleasure Van. Good luck!"

* * *

Vanellope pulls off her hood as she enters the bar. She scans the area for any sign of a familiar face. The first familiar face, or faces, that came into view were a few _Sugar Rush_ racers. She walks over to the familiar trio, one in particular was hiding behind a menu. She pulls out the vacant seat and was greeted by them. Before she could even bother asking about the location of her other friends, a mild bit of curiosity got the better of her.

"Who is Snow hiding from?" she asks as she scans the room. Candlehead fell out of her seat at the question and went into a fit of giggles; even Taffyta couldn't help getting a few laughs in. "Not funny guys," she grumbles dangerously low. "It's not our fault your guy is a riot when he's had one too many," the platinum blond says. Vanellope raises her eyebrow at the odd situation. _What did she miss?_ Candlehead leans in to tell her what happened an hour prior to her arrival.

_The trio walks into the bar after a day of game jumping, particularly in the malls of the Sims. It was quite the thrill with all the electrified mall-goers that they had to compete with. Snowanna catches a glimpse of Zangief next to several empty, root beer glasses. She taps the burly wrestler on his broad shoulders. "Hello my Arctic Fox! Is great to being seeing you. You have fun with friends?" he responds with a slurred voice. "Yeah... Uhm babe, don't you think you've had enough?" she asks as leans onto his bicep. "Zangief? Have enough? Ha! You are always good laugh Snow Angel."_

_Snowanna had a feeling roaring in the pit of her gut, and it wasn't from hunger. Music started to play in the background, but it was deafened by the conversations going about the tavern. She lets the matter slide as she takes a seat next to him and converse about her adventures in a few games; she even pulls out a few outfits that she bought from other games. "Oh those very sexy clothes Snowflake. Would love to see you were them on next date, yes?" She chortles at the question since that was the reason for buying them in the first place. Zangief takes another sip at his root beer, and soon after that, Snowanna would find out why root beer, music, and Zangief were a terrible combination._

"After that, let's just say that the wrong song started to play when he was drunk," Taffyta finally composes herself. "Well what was it?" Vanellope asks. "_I'm Too Sexy..._" Snowanna groans as she hits her head on the table. The president looks on in confusion. "But he doesn't have a shirt," she says with more puzzlement. Candlehead glances at her friend once more, but decided that she's suffered enough humiliation from her. Taffyta decided to tell the rest since Candlehead looked like she was going to remain silent.

_Snowanna hid behind her hands as she watched him dance upon the bar table with little shame. "Zangief too sexy for his shirt, too sexy for his shirt, so sexy it hurts!" Zangief starts singing. "You don't have a shirt babe," she states, hoping that the fact would be enough to get him off of the table. "You are right as usual," he starts wiggling around until he grabs his tights. "Oh mod no!" the snow cone themed racer groans out. "Zangief too sexy for his tights, too sexy for his tights, so sexy tonight!" he sings false lyrics. Her violet eyes pick up on the red cloth sailing above head; it lands on a table occupied by a few Nicelanders. "Oh my..." Mary cries out before swooning out of her seat._

_Ralph walks over to his stark naked friend and talks him into 'helping' Tapper with something out in the back of the shop. He pushed the nude lug a few inches before he flashed the embarrassed racer a smile. "Word to the wise: don't let him drink too much. He has a tendency to strip when he gets this way. I keep finding his tights in the lost and found afterwards," he warns in a hushed tone. "Couldn't have said that five minutes ago?" she wanted to shout at him, but she decided to get away from her drunken beau._

_Taffyta and Candlehead were so red in the face by the time she found them at a table near the back of the bar. "What's the matter? Didn't enjoy the show?" Candlehead snickers. Snowanna blushes; she wasn't admitting anything! "Yeah, you ditch us for your man, and now you're hiding with us?" Taffyta presses her lips to try to halt her laughing. "Oh shut up! Tapper, get me a strong root beer. I'm not drunk enough to handle tonight," Snowanna says as she takes one of the menus that was nestled between a metallic prong. A root beer mug slid down her way._

Vanellope quickly shifts her eyes to the back of the bar in search of Ralph, but she couldn't find hide nor hair of him, so she settles with staying with her friends for the time being. "That's gotta suck Snow. I would probably want the ground to swallow me whole if that happened to me," she replies with a sympathetic hand on the ebony skinned teen. "Thank you for being the friend that didn't laugh," Snowanna says, casting a criticizing glance at her other friends; both of which look upward while whistling an innocent tune.

The issue at hand with Ralph was slowly building into a festering botheration within her as the time went by without seeing him, but the joyful tone in her friends couldn't leave her with the will to display any physical displeasure at the sudden bumps in her life. First her code engages its failsafe and sends her into a present downward spiral into default; next her emotional state was becoming more unstable with each passing day; then she missed talking to the guy who she had come to love as a protective big brother; and now she has to deal with Tamora's insight on her possibly having competition. It was enough to make her scream, but she let a bit of her programming control her; _poise, calmness, breathe in, breathe out._

She tunes in on Taffyta talking about her budding relationship with Roxas taking a new level. _Well at least someone was happy._ "We've been spending a lot more time together lately. I feel bad because it's only happening because you two are fighting though," she says as she looks at Vanellope. "Yeah, why are you two fighting?" Snowanna takes down her menu to ask. "Why am I fighting who?" Vanellope ask with a genuine confusion. "Roxas!" Candlehead says. "Don't know who that is, but I'm happy for you Taffyta." The trio growl at the lack of an answer, they suppose they will never find out, but maybe it was best that way.

Ralph walks from the back of the bar with a sobering up Zangief following behind him. The wrecker pats him on the back as the wrestler laughs at his own embarrassment. He makes his way over to the table with the Nicelanders. "Zangief offers huge apology to Matryoshka People," he says with a sheepish grin. "Well at least you're clothed. That's apology enough," Gene says while sipping on his ginger ale. "Many thanks, Mayor Matroyshka. Zangief must be taking his leave. Must buy a gift for little Frost Kitten. She is probably not happy."

Vanellope almost jumps out of her seat to go see Ralph once he was away from Zangief, but she notices a lithe and tall blonde sauntering over to his side. She talked to him with an arm laced through his. He either didn't notice or didn't mind the display of affection. The brunette had to resist every binary in her coding not to rakes her ivory polished nails across the table. She turns to her friends. "Can I ask you guys for some advice?"

The trinity looks amongst each other. "Sure Van. What's up?" Candlehead pipes up. "That," the president points to Doronjo sitting next to Ralph. "What about them... _Oh_," Taffyta says as she finally gets the picture. "I don't want to make it seem like I'm jealous or paranoid, but Tammy pointed it out, and she's got a good set of eyes on her. What do you think of their _friendship_? Do you guys think that Doronjo likes Ralph?" she asks as she eyes the woman's backside. "We don't know anything about her. For all we know she's just extremely affectionate towards her friends. I think the best course of action would be to talk one-on-one with her about her friendship with Ralph. If they're just friends, then tell her that it makes you uncomfortable that she's so physical with her affection," Snowanna says as she looks at the pair as well. "And if she's interested in him?"

Candlehead looks at masked villainess. "Put your foot down and say that you don't appreciate her trying to seduce him. I doubt someone like Ralph would try to date her when he's got you, but you might want to put her in her place before she tries to walk over you," the green haired teen says as she hears them laughing. "Sounds pretty solid. I'll talk to her right now." They wave her off as she walks over to the conversing bad guys.

Doronjo was in the midst of a conversation about the gossip she has accumulated in conversations with the other villainesses. "There is a secluded poetry club in _Grand Theft Auto IV_. Pretty deep and heavy emotions in that game series, and a few other gamers come in from time to time to express themselves. It would be perfect for someone like you; the blues playing in the background, new faces baring their souls to the audience, and the drinks aren't that bad there too," she ticks off every detail that she could think of. Sure the game was a little dangerous to travel in, but the location was worth it! "You're right. It does sound right up my alley," he says. She laughs at the irony; the club's entrance was in an alley. "Perfect. You and I can go there tomorrow after closing. I don't think poor Felix would make it in a tough game like that. It would give us more time to get to know each other."

Vanellope glitches on top of Ralph's shoulders, instantly scaring the woman into coughing up her root beer. "If it can scare the pants off of Felix then count me in!" she says with her trademark smile. "Vanellope!" Ralph says with a grin. "Miss me Stinkbrain?" she places a kiss on his crown. Doronjo was gripping her root beer mug tightly, but just shy of breaking the glass. The teen slides off of his shoulders and dusts herself off. "Would you tell Felix and Tammy that the three of us are going to that club tomorrow? They could use some alone time away from us anyways," she says with a smile. "_My thoughts exactly!_" the villainess mentally grumbles with a cutthroat glare towards the girl. She knew that she would never be liberated from her since Ralph had a compelling impulse to keep her in his company, so she had to tolerate her until she could come up with a better plan. Ralph was already up and on his way to the couple at the other end of the bar table; leaving the two female characters to their own company.

Vanellope decides to stand while addressing the issue. Doronjo looks up from her drink towards the hazel eyes of the nearby girl. "May I help you Vanellope?" she asks in a sweet tone. "The answer varies on your answer what you have to say. I've kept an eye on you two for a while, and I have a very reliable source that can back up this suspicion. You're _very_ physical with Ralph and I'm not comfortable with that behavior towards him." The masked woman raises an eyebrow, though the girl would never see it. "Ralph doesn't seem to mind so I don't see the problem," she goads. "He might not mind, but he's my boyfriend, and the last thing he needs is a rumor going around the arcade about him."

The older woman thinks about the matter. True, she didn't want any ill words to be thrown towards the man, but she wasn't going to stop her conquest because of a mere teenager asked her to. "You're right. There's no need for a silly rumor to go about the arcade about Ralph so why don't you step down?" she requests. Vanellope does a double take at the effrontery of the woman. _Was she serious? She can't be serious. She wanted **her** to be the one to step down?_ "Excuse me?" Doronjo titters at the girl's confusion. "I'll take it slowly for you since you're so young. **I**... want **you**... to **step down**. It's simple English. He's a man with the biggest heart of gold in the entire arcade and I want him, end of story."

Vanellope knew very little about the woman, but she knew about her obsession with gold. Vexation roiled to the forefront of her eyes. True the villainess was trying to come between her and Ralph, but what tipped her over the edge was her reason behind why she wanted to come between them; it was just so _low_. "You expect me to break up with Ralph over a philosophical reason to satiate your gold lust!" she was beyond using a calm voice by this point, but she didn't want to make a scene because of the blond.

Ralph had finished his explanation for his plans for tomorrow. The couple seemed to agree that any _Grand Theft Auto_ game would probably give Felix a heart attack. Just as he turned on his heels, he noticed the two females having a stare down as they continued their conversation. Before he could lift his foot off of the ground, he felt an armored glove touch his arm. "Leave them alone Wreck-It, they need to talk about this," Calhoun said as she watched from her seat. "Do you mind filling me in on what's going on?" The marine pinched the bridge of her nose. "Great Commander, you're dense. I swear you have a brick up there instead of a brain..."

Doronjo rolls her eyes at the teen's anger as she continues her stance. "... and to top things off, I treat him like a man! You simply frolic around with him like you're still a child! Do you even talk to him on a mature level? I can guarantee that I know more about a man's desires then you do!" she says as if it were fact. Vanellope did take a step back to meditate on the point brought up. _Did she really treat him like how she did when she was a child?_ "Face it Vanellope. He and I are more compatible; we're both bad after all." The statement struck a raw cord within the teenager. "You did not just insult him by calling him a bad guy! Say what you will about me, but you will not insult him. If you've even bothered to listen to what he says in the Bad-Anon meetings then maybe you would get that being an antagonist doesn't make him a bad character! You may be more mature than I am, but I know more about Ralph where it counts!"

The blonde rises to her feet with a false genuine round of applause. "Brava, brava... You think of that one all by yourself? I should be impressed, maybe give you a medal, but then again I don't waste gold and I won't waste Ralph on a cavity-inducing brat like you! Now why don't you run along back to that candy coated nightmare you call a game." The raw cord that has been prodded, teased, and trod upon finally snapped. The woman made a mockery of her, Ralph's morality, and now she was insulting her game?! "This gold digging bimbo is going down!"

Ralph, Felix, Calhoun, Taffyta, Snowanna, and Candlehead gawk at the statement. "How did that just get passed her candied censor?" Felix said wide-eyed. He gives a disapproving look towards his wife. "I swear she didn't get that from me!" Calhoun promised with an equally shocked look. The males look at her, daring her to say it again. Before any rebuttal could be made, the earsplitting noise of shattering glass and tumbling tabletops echoes across the bar; immediately drawing eyes upon the two women standing a few feet apart.

Vanellope shifts low to the ground, taking her right leg at an angle behind her for support. Doronjo smirks at the stance, but counters with a firm stance — her arms cropping the span of the gap between her legs. The two ran at each other with speed that shocked their opponents. The older woman comes in with a clenched uppercut, but the young president was quick with reprisal with an extensive and powerful roundhouse kick. The two stood at a stand still, waiting for the other to break away in weakness, however neither would budge.

After being within such close distance without harming the other, one of them decides to go on the offensive. Doronjo pulls her left fist in to push the annoying leg out of the way, until she was met with retribution. Vanellope kicks off of the hand, giving her enough force to successfully backflip to safety. "Oh, it seems the princess knows how to fight then, eh? Good. I don't have to hold back!" the villainess shouts as she runs in for another assault.

Vanellope jumps from her perch onto the counter, and performs a series of downward twirling kicks, most of which were blocked by the older fighter. The two women glare at each other as if they were two she-cats feuding over territory. They yell out before lashing back at each other. Vanellope lands a harsh sucker punch to Doronjo's jaw, but unfortunately for her, that was a big mistake on her part. The masked blonde took advantage of the extended limb and threw the girl through an unoccupied bar table. She lands harshly, grunting out a strangled breath as a sharp heeled boot stomps on her diaphragm. The victor kneels down to her defeated opponent. "_You would have saved yourself the embarrassment if you would have only listened sugar plum._"

The racer growls as takes the black and white boot, and twists it around the ankle; pushing it off of her abdomen. She scissors her legs around the woman's hips while supporting herself on her hands. Before Doronjo could make heads or tails of the odd position, she was flipped to the ground; landing at a weird angle on her neck. "If you didn't talk so much smack and you wouldn't be on the floor moron!"

The two tussle it out on the wooden floor before a pair of massive hands manages to pull them apart. The females glare at one another; one trying to pull out of the hands of the man who stopped the fight, the other trying to get an extra kick or scratch in. Both of them stopped their struggling to glance at the fool who dared to interrupt their fight. "Ralph, let me go! I'm not done with this homewrecker yet!" Vanellope says as she dangles by her hoodie. "Oh yeah, let the little brat go! I dare you to hit me again!" Doronjo prods with a scowl. "Enough is enough," he says with a firm voice.

Vanellope sighs as she folds her arms over her chest. Doronjo relents in her attempts of assault, but wasn't done with her verbal barbs; her pride was too wounded by being floored by a princess character. After they seem to simmer down, Ralph puts the women down on the ground, each dusting themselves off from the grunge on the bar floor. He turns to face Doronjo."Doronjo, I think it's very flattering that you're interested in me, but I've already chosen Vanellope. Nothing you do will change that. I don't condone you fighting my girlfriend, and I can't keep friendship with you, because of your hostility towards her. It's nothing personal." The antagonist gapes at him with shock. "You can't be serious? You're picking her over me? Me! I'm more along your level than she is. She acts like a child! You two will never spark with her treating you the way she is instead of treating you as a lover!" she states as if he were confused on his own decision.

Vanellope's heart shattered into a million pieces at sharp comment. As much as she hated to admit it, Doronjo was right. She was expecting to spark with Ralph in order to save their relationship; yet, they haven't developed much further from their friendship status. Sure they went on dates, talked, and shared kisses from time to time, but the formula to sparking was more complex than the level of their relationship. "_At this rate, I'm going to fall into default, and Ralph will never forgive me for what I might do with Roxas... and I won't even be able to stop myself..._" she thought with pain searing through her chest.

While she was in thought, she couldn't even bother to pay attention to the words going back and forth between the two Bad-Anon members. "I don't care what she acts like, Vanellope is still Vanellope, and that's all that matters to me," Ralph says as he turns to where Vanellope was. "Sorry about this whole mess Vanellope. How about I walk you..." He notices that she was no longer there. He scans the bar to see her rushing out of the tavern with a hurt look on her face. "Vanellope!" he shouts out as he pushes the bar tables out of the way. By the time he makes it to the exit she was nowhere in sight.

* * *

(**A/N:** I've managed to post this a lot earlier than I expected because my sister had to make an unexpected trip back to where she now lives so her visit was cut short. :( Oh well, I'll see her for Christmas I hope. So you guys are in luck because of my sudden free time. Hope you guys enjoyed.)


	18. Check Yes Juliet

**Disclaimer:** "Wreck-It Ralph" and all characters related to the movie belong to The Walt Disney Company, and/or their respective gaming companies. Wreck-It Ralph was created by Rich Moore, Phil Johnston, and Jim Reardon. Level Up! and any characters not associated in their own respective franchise belong to Berserkeroo. All rights reserved.

(**A/N:** I love this chapter. Deliciously evil for what I'm about to do, but you'll read it anyways just to see what my little mind came up with. XD)

* * *

Light obviously was far from prevalent in the dank galactic game. Rapid fire was a common sound and carnage was a far more common occurrence that followed the piercing resonance. A heavy boot stomped hard upon the convulsing carcass of the remnant of what once was the vile, metallic, viral experiment. The woman pops her neck as she watches the white light flash before her eyes. She watched on as the hologram of the General gave his infamous congratulatory speech, but she couldn't bring herself to enjoy it as she usually would after her hard day of gameplay. Her mind was very distracted that day. If it wasn't for the fact that the player was as experienced as she was, she was sure that a Cy-Bug would have eaten her earlier on. It's not like she wouldn't have regenerated afterwards or anything; she was in her game, but that wasn't the point.

Sgt. Calhoun growled before uncapping a grenade and tossing it in a random place. Needless to say, the concussive force rattled the ground fiercely as the winds blew at her locks. She was grateful that no one was around to see her acting so unprofessional. Slowly, she brought herself back into composure, but she knew it wouldn't last until she talked to _her_.

After a few more rounds of intense shooting, the arcade was brought to a close. She rallies her men to address guard duties for the Infected Tower. "Kohut! Acosta! Burundukov!" The men stood at attention once being addressed. "Your shift starts right now. Russo! Sanderson! Proulx! You three will exchange shifts at 0400 hours. The rest of you puppy kissers enjoy your day off. Dismissed!" she calls out. "Ma'am, yes ma'am!"

The seasoned marine whistles out to the great expanse. The ground vibrates more fiercely with each passing second. _Something was coming._ A metallic scorpion-esque creature emerges from the ground with a chattering hiss. Calhoun puts her hand at her side, but shifts her hand from her gun holster to a nearby pouch. She pulls out a few scraps of metal and meat. "Lie down!" she barks. The Sandtrap skitters around a bit before lying flat on its belly. A few mesh noises came from the creature with glowing red eyes. She wags her finger at it in a scolding manner. The creature quieted immediately. "Good boy," she throws the scraps towards the beast, which it didn't hesitate to scarf down the food.

Calhoun was happy that this Sandtrap was already adorning a saddle; riding bareback was extremely uncomfortable with the weird undulating creature. She pulls on the reins and heads off to the makeshift metal ranch where other Sandtraps lie skittering about the sandy corral. She dismounts the creature and locks the pen. She took the remains that lie in her sack and threw it over the fence for the insects to do with it whatever they desire; more than likely, fight over what was in it.

Now the space embarker makes her way to the battle worn gates that made up the barrier to their camp. One of the guards noticed their captain, and shouts down at her, "Password?" She rolled her eyes, but everyone knew the drill. "Survival Mode!" The gates slowly opened, much to her despise. She was in a hurry, and she didn't have time to waste here. After taking time to navigate the maze-like campsite, she made it to her bunker. Now that she retrieved her hoverboard, she was on her way out of her game. In all honesty, she wish she could take a Sandtrap through GCS, but they were only a semi-civil creatures in comparison to Cy-Bugs; and she wasn't going to take the chance of it going feral and eating someone.

Calhoun closed her eyes as she made her way to the candied game of _Sugar Rush_. Her oceanic eyes went to the note that was previously in her pocket. It was from the game's queen.

_Confection took the pins out from her extravagant and voluminous hairstyle, giving it a more relaxed and lush appeal. "Much better," she yawns. She was enjoying her day of rest since Vanellope had taken most of the work this week, or she was until she heard heavy footsteps coming from behind her. "Who the heck was running in the castle?" she ponders as she looks behind her. Just as she did so, she managed to make a brief moment of eye contact with her teary eyed daughter. The teen was already turning the corner to head to her room. "Vanellope come back here!" she calls out with a concerned look._

_Silently, the queen wished that she didn't have such great taste in high-heeled shoes. She decided that she had a better chance of catching her sorrowful daughter without them on, so she took them off and rushed over to the girl's room. She came upon a strange sight; Sweetie Jill was outside of Vanellope's room pounding on the door. "Vanellope, talk to me. Let me in, please!" Sweetie Jill all, but shouted. The lavender candy jumped when she saw the large shadow of the queen behind her. "Your Highness! See, what had happened was-"_

_Confection raised a hand to halt the girl's lies before they would even begin. "Save it little missy! I've seen her running to her room crying, long before you were kicked out." She glared at the nob and started to tug on it. It was locked. "Vanellope von Schweetz, this is your mother speaking! You open this door right now, or I'm breaking it down!" she orders. "Go away mom. I want to be alone!" The brunette growls at the reply. "Over my Game Over I will! You open this door on the count of three, or I'm breaking in..." she took a chocolate-coated, crisped rice mace from one of the nearby suits of armor. "...One! Two! Thr-" The door creaks open with Vanellope peeking from behind the door. "Open the door all the way." The younger racer sighs, but moves out of the way to let her mother in._

_"Cheez-Its Vanellope, your mom's nuts! Oops, sorry Your Majesty," Sweetie Jill said as she raises her violet eyes to the mace bearing monarch. "Oh would you look at the time. I just remembered that it's time for my break, and not in this way." She looks more at the mace. "Later!" With that, she was gone._

_The queen puts the mace back in its place. She enters the room to see Vanellope clinging to a tiger plushie, looking completely lost. "Vanellope, I'm your mother. You used to tell me all of your secrets as a little girl. You know you can tell me anything right? What's wrong?" Confection asks as she pulls her daughter into her embrace. Vanellope slowly shifted from clinging to the tiger plushie, to her mother's warmth. She finally let the casual teardrops transcend into a river of tears. She began to sob into her chest. The woman shushed her as she stroked her hair. As she examined more closely, she noticed that her hair was more messy than usual, and that her clothes had a few tears. During her examination, she failed to realize that Vanellope had fallen asleep in her arms. "Poor girl cried herself to sleep..."_

_Sweetie Jill comes to the door and slowly enters, silently glad that the queen didn't have the mace. "Uhm, Your Majesty..." she whispers, trying not to wake her friend. Confection's eyes fall to her ankles. "I know what happened. Vanellope went to Tappers after having a talk with a blond, tall, scary lady with a gun." The woman resisted the urge to grunt at the mention of Sgt. Calhoun. "Why does anything involving that woman have to irritate me?" she thought with a cutting glare. "I don't know what happened at the bar, but I know that it involved Ralph and this other woman..." Confection would have jumped from her sitting place, had her daughter not been so comfortably sleeping on her. "Other woman?" she said after she cleared her throat. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Before you think the worst from what I'm saying, it's not how it sounds. The lady said that this woman was trying to seduce him or something, and that she should confront her. Like I said, I don't know what happened at the bar, but obviously Vanellope can't say anything right now." The two look at the resting girl._

_Confection strokes her daughter's hair. "SJ, take a note: To Sgt. Tamora Jean Calhoun, Your presence is required at Sugar Rush castle. This is a private matter that involves my daughter. I know you care about her, and it would be greatly appreciated if you would help settle this matter tomorrow after closing. Yours Truly, Queen Confection von Schweetz." The candy scribbles the last of the words on the paper before signing the envelop to the addressee. She soon summons a messenger to take the letter. As he departed, the soon-to-be advisor glances back at Confection removing the bulk of her dress and entering the sheets on the bed. "If you don't mind me asking; what are you doing?"_

_The queen smiles as she pulls Vanellope back into her arms. Unconsciously, the teen nuzzles underneath her neck to regain her comfort. "I always slept with her whenever she was scared, sad, sick, or if she wanted me too. Just because she's older, doesn't change that I would still do that for her," she replies in a gentle tone as she brushes a few stray hairs out of her girl's face. "You're a really good mother Your Highness," Sweetie Jill complements with sincerity._

Calhoun skids to a stop in front of the castle. As per request of the _president_, she never required permission to access the grounds. She didn't need to make it far into the royal abode before meeting the same violet hard candy carrying a tray of cookies and tea. "Her Highness requested that I escort you to Vanellope's room for the _you know what_?" Sweetie Jill whispered the latter. The marine shrugs her shoulders, but follows the candy. She had no reason why she was there, but she knew that it involved Vanellope and probably what happened last night.

They come across the sugar-coated door. Sweetie Jill knocked three times before the queen opened the door. The soldier nods in greeting before entering the room. The candy advisor sets down the tray at the table that occupied the room. There was a moment of silence before the two women cast their eyes at Vanellope.

"What exactly am I here for?" Calhoun finally breaks the silence. "She came home crying? Why?" Confection asks without a second of hesitation. "And you couldn't have asked her that yourself?" the soldier asks with a raised eyebrow. "She is too upset to talk about it so I'm asking the next best person. Why did she come home crying?" she asks again. The mercenary sighs.

"This all started when Wreck-It started hanging out with this thief in his Bad-Anon group that he goes to. I didn't think much of it at the time; thought a thief would be a nice addition to a troop: stealthy, competitive, and crafty, but she was putting those skills to use — and it wasn't for game jumping. I started to notice that she had an interest in hanging around with knucklebuster more than the rest of us; which would be okay if she came off as the shy type. She started hanging out with us more once Vanellope was away sick, but she still clung to Wreck-It like the gold digging floo-" she paused. She had to rethink her wording. Her husband wasn't pleased that Vanellope picked up her bad habit of derogatory language. _Darn impressionable teenage years._ "... like the conniving woman she is. I thought I would warn Vanellope before the little snake tried anything, but I didn't expect a bar fight to come out of it."

Confection interrupted the woman's tale. "Bar fight?! Wait. Did she win?" she asks with a little excitement. Calhoun cackled as she recalls the event. "Didn't expect her training to be so effective. She was handing out that butt kicking like a freaking Christmas gift!" Both of them enjoy the moment to liven up the mood. She concludes her tale with the following events of Ralph breaking up the fight and telling off the little good for nothing.

Vanellope finally joins them at the table before taking a nibble at one of the cookies brought by her beloved majordomo. "Can I ask you guys on some advice?" she mutters. Confection was finally relieved that her child was finally opening up. "Sure muffin. What's bothering you?" She looks off to the side wondering if she was making a smart decision with what she was going to say. Sure the two women loved her, but they both had a short fuse once lit. "How do you get a guy to spark with you?" Calhoun spat out of her tea and beat against her chest to prevent herself from choking. The matriarch was no better since she chose then to take a long sip of her tea. "I'm going to go get a towel from the bathroom to clean this up," Sweetie Jill replies; but truth be told, she didn't want to hear the conversation — that would require the inevitable talk about _the sparkplugs and the sockets_. She ran like never before to get away from the three.

"Uhm, sweetie, why do you want to talk about such a serious subject?" Confection asks with clear discomfort. _What parent ever wants to have this conversation?_ "Yeah, I understand that Doronjo provoked you and all, but you don't have to force it because of someone like her," Calhoun tries to reason with her. Vanellope exhales. _Well this is it._ "This has nothing to deal with one-upping Doronjo. It's... more complicated than that," she informs. "I'm going into default."

An ear-splitting crash came from the ground below; tea spreading on the tiled area of the floor. Confection's eyes visibly shrunk as she stares at her daughter. "When did this happen?!" she heard the blonde ask. "I can guess what I think is the first severe symptom occurred a little over a week ago. It was weird, but I didn't think anything of it until I left _DDR Wii._ I must have been going into default for a while since my reboot percentage is as high as it is," she places the cookie down. She wasn't feeling hungry anymore. "How high is it?" Confection jabbed her elbow in the other woman's rib. She mouthed a silent "_not helping!_" to her. "I've been checking the Code Room more frequently. It's at sixty-three percent... My failsafe is winning and I don't know what I'm going to do. Ralph will hate me if I end up cheating on him! It is so hard to keep Roxas out of my head, and it's getting harder and harder to stay away from him."

"_I did not come prepared for this._" Calhoun thought in a mantra as she rubbed her temples.

Confection clears her throat. "I don't think you have to worry as much as you are Vanellope." Her daughter slowly turns her head. _Has she not been listening the whole time?_ "Let me elaborate: you're concerned about your relationship; that means that you are fighting back! You're a tough little cookie honey." Tamora chips in her two cents now that she had some help with the matter. "Yeah squirt. The odds have been stacked against you for years and you've been a warrior through it all. So you're not going to let this get to you, are you?" Vanellope looks away. "No, but the bar feels so much higher than back then."

"Then you either find a way to lower that bar or get the nerve to jump over it." A gloved hand rests in assurance on the young teen's shoulder. "The odds are always stacked against princess and queen characters. Things were rough for Candy and I, but we got over it together. You have to talk to Ralph if you want him to be able to help you. To be honest, if Candy didn't straighten out some information that I had learned, you wouldn't be here."

_A firm cracking sound beat throughout the darkened sugary lands. Tears were pouring out from a pair of hazel eyes. "So you're engaged, and you never told me? You... You rat!" At that moment, Prince Candy was nursing the pink handmark left on his cheek by the furious woman. "Dang girl, you hit hard!" he remarks as he rises from the ground. "I'll be hitting you a lot harder for toying with my feelings you two-timing royal oaf. How could you do this to me? You said you loved me, but it was obviously a lie. What was I some kind of conquest before you wed your fiancé?! My parents were right, I shouldn't have taken things this far with you."_

_Confection turned on her heels to go to her kart. She halfway turns to address him. "I don't ever want to see you again! Tell your parents, I renounce my title as Champion of York City." Candy grabs her by the arm and pulls her back to him. "We are not done here! I didn't even get a chance to speak," he was cut off by the furious young brunette. "Well I'm done. I'm sick of you and your lies!" He raises her hand to her. She flinches, expecting to be struck by him, but instead he cups her cheek and draws her into a kiss. Immediately, she thrashes against him, trying to break free, but he was taking her clawing and pushing. After a moment, she ceases her struggles and lets him finish._

_Soft sobbing came from his chest. Why wouldn't he just let her go? Why did he have to continuously stir her emotions? "I just found out about my 'fiancé'. My parents started spying on me after I continuously kept denying courting partners. They found out about you, and they forced an arranged marriage onto me. I had no idea until Sour Bill told me. She means nothing to me, and I am undeniably in love with you Confection Caricola." Before he knew it, they were on the ground — her lying on top of him — in a heated kiss. He was sporting a full body blush at this point._

_At a slow pace, he lifted his upper half off of the ground; taking his beloved with him on the ascension. An idea struck him as the love radiated from the two of them. "Let's elope." Her eyes snap up to his. He was serious. "Candy, we can't run away together. You're the future king," she reminds him. "So? I'll throw away this stupid crown any day of the week to be with you. If my parents don't accept you, then they don't accept me either." True to his word, he discards the crown on the ground. "Do you really think we could get away with it? What if we get caught? They'll lock you up, and they might have me hanging by the gaillows for 'conspiracy to kidnapping'."_

_"If we get caught, I'd rather Game Over right alongside you than to live without you; and that I promise you." A gale brushes passed them. The sound of a fabric billows right above them. The pair look up to see two pinkish checkered flags waving in some kind of victory to the wind current; one sporting a pair of lollipops, the other sporting a pair of crossed candy canes — in the center of each flag was a heart. Confection giggles as she watches the display. Candy gave a full-blown smile as he watched with her._

_In the midst of their enjoyment, they had failed to notice that they were being spied on by a band of five masked individuals. One of them took picture before retreating to the shadows._

Vanellope was practically leaning on the edge of her seat, silently hoping to get the full story, but that would be for another time. "Your grandparents were such nosy old bats that their spies ended up providing proof that we sparked that night. Since they didn't want history to repeat itself like with King Savor and Queen Chary, they let the cute baker marry the shy prince," she says with a wink to her daughter. Despite their constant clashes, Calhoun had to admit that she was impressed with the drive and determination that the other woman had. "Never doubt the power that love has over something Vanellope. If a commoner and a royal can spark, then you two are a shoo-in."

Confection raises her eye at the woman's certainty. Sensing this, Calhoun retells the events that led up to the Battle of Sugar Rush, allowing Vanellope to have her input here and there. "Ever since then, I would gladly say that those two have earned my unwavering respect," the marine states with clear pride towards her favorite racer. "I can't believe that you've never told us this Vanny. I never knew how self sacrificing you are until now, and Ralph... I always thought he was a nice boy, but he's-" she trails off. "He's my hero," Vanellope says with a flush in her cheeks. "And a princess always falls in love with her hero. No matter what may be written in your backstory Vanellope, Roxas will never be able to trump Ralph in that department."

Calhoun tilts her head to the side, pausing to ponder things out. "But you two could use some work. In order to spark to the love formula, you have to up your ante soldier," she ruffles her hair while looking at the queen. "Well she is your daughter so you should start." Confection muffled her exasperated groan. She was going to have to teach her daughter a few tricks, and she knew her husband was not going to be pleased with this lesson, but first she needed the talk. "When a male character loves a female character, or in some cases, a male character and a male character or a female character with a female character..." she tries to dance around the subject, but she knew it was no use, so she decided to take the bull by the horns.

* * *

Calhoun was departing Sugar Rush with a new mission; to inform Wreck-It Ralph about the current situation. The sounds of the _Grand Random Roster Race_ were fading as she left. As she arrived in the vintage game console, she found her husband making a few repairs to the houses around Niceland. He almost instantly halted his work in order to plant a kiss on the woman's cheek. "Howdy love, what brings you to my neck of the wires? Uh, not that I'm ever too busy for you that is," he fumbled over his words. "I'm looking for Wreck-It. Have you seen him?"

Felix scratches his chin, though he remembered that Ralph was being distant the whole day. Can't blame the poor guy either; his girlfriend was upset and he wasn't experienced in the dating field. "I'm not certain, but he hasn't left the game. He might be in his house or at the brick pile." The marine gives a salute to the man before taking her leave.

Tamora made her first attempt at his house, but no one answered. He either wasn't there or wasn't answering. She decided against using her thermal vision spyware to check since she didn't like to make a habit of invading on her comrade's privacy. She decided to try the brick pile, and to her luck, he was there staring up at the glass screen that separated the players from their world.

The eight-bit villain turns once he felt her hand on his shoulder. "Oh. Hi Tamora," he says as he looks at the Sugar Rush cabinet. "Are you going to just sit there or are you going to go over and talk to her?" she asks as she takes a seat in the bricks. "And say what? I'm sorry that other women find me attractive? Yeah, that'll set everything right. She's going to think I've been messing around," he shudders. "I just went to visit her. She wasn't mad at you, she was mad at herself. There's some information that you need to know about." The wrecker waits for her to continue. "Ever since the upgrade, she's had an update in her backstory. She has a programmed love interest-"

"She has a what?!" Ralph clenches on a nearby brick; breaking it into bits. "Let me finish before you jump the gun!" He simmers down.

"She has a programmed love interest, but she didn't know about it up until recently. She's been hiding it and trying to sort this out on her own, but she's at a breaking point Wreck-It. Her default percentage has gotten pretty high and she's scared. You two need to talk about this. It takes two to tango, and she's trying to dance by herself." Calhoun rises to her feet and dusts herself off. "So what are you going to do?"

Ralph locks his jaw in thought. He was hurt that she was hiding information from him, even if it was to spare his feelings, but he knew losing their budding relationship wasn't an option. At the moment, he knew that the _Grand Random Roster Race_ was going on, but by the time it took to get to the game it would already be over. He would have to confront her in the castle. "I'm going to her," he finally states. With that he went to his home to retrieve his confectionary hoverboard, and rode to _Sugar Rush_.

* * *

Confection was signing papers in the throne room. She was picking up after her daughter since the girl was practicing what she would say once the wrecker was here. Her ears picked up on a cheerful whistle from the king as he entered the room. It was evident that he had a great day game jumping with his new cohorts and placing in the _GRRR_. "Hi sugarlump. How has your day been?" he asks with a grin. "Busy and stressful," she replies as she pushes the workload aside. "Want to talk about it?"

"I have to take care of everyone's workload, because Vanellope is in her room practicing what she has to say to Ralph. Yesterday was a bit of a mess for her," the matriarch says as she moves from the chair. "Oh, and what happened? Little lovers' quarrel?" he titters at the thought. Confection contemplates on telling him the truth. _She was his daughter too so he did have a right to know._ "Not exactly..." She goes off to tell him the events that proceeded over the night up until this very moment.

Candy was seething with rage. "That low-down dirty dog! How dare he have some other girl on his shoulder?! And you said Vanny disgraced herself in public because of him? I knew it! I knew she wasn't ready for dating, and boys. I won't have any of it," he shakes as steam practically whistles out of his ears. "Do you have selective hearing or something? They need to talk this thing out Candy. She really loves him," she reasons. "Apparently he doesn't love her! If he did, he would have been here last night to talk to her. I did it when you thought I was cheating. I don't care if he is her friend, he is banished from this game!"

Confection gasps at his snap decision. "You're being irrational. If you do this, she will hate you. He means more to her than you realize." The king turns his head away from her. "I don't care. A no good villain like him isn't fit for my little girl!" She shouts back at him, "You sound just like your spiteful parents!" He glares back at her. "I am nothing like my parents! I am doing what's best for her."

Candy leaves her in the throne room, distinctly hearing her saying something along the lines of _I should have kept my mouth shut_. He calls up a small troop of guards to tail him as he walks to the entrance of the game. Not long after, Ralph appears from the tunnel with confident and serious look on his face. He dismounts his board, and makes the trek down the road. Unfortunately, he didn't make it far without bumping into the king and his guards. Before he could even greet the monarch, he was met with a raised hand and a glare.

"You are banished from Sugar Rush. I do not want to see your face in my game ever again. My guards will show you out," he said in finality. "Under what pretenses?" Ralph steps forward, but was met with candy spears. "You messed with the wrong father Wreck-It Ralph! I will not have my daughter associating with an uncouth cheater like you. Get out of my game!" He walks back to the castle; leaving his guards to haul the villain back the way he came.

By the time he arrived back into the throne room, he was met with a pair of predatory hazel eyes. "So you're banishing Ralph from the game without even consulting on how I feel?" Vanellope shouts at him. "He's no good. What do you expect to gain from associating with someone like him? I won't stand for you being dishonored because of him. You cannot just run amok and fight people in a bar! You are of royal blood and you must act like it," Candy retorts as if he had the more valid argument. "What part of _I don't want to be a princess_ don't you get?"

"It's in your code Vanellope. You can't change it. He's nothing, but a bad guy anyways. I should have known better than to trust your judgment on this. You will not leave this game until you get it through your head that he's not good enough for you!" Vanellope loudly growls at him. "You can't confine me here! Quit treating me like I'm a child! I've been able to take care of myself without you for years. I can make my own decisions, and you are wrong about Ralph. He isn't a bad guy! I... I love him!" The king snorts at the words falling from her mouth. "And what do you think will happen? That you'll spark under the moonlight. Wake up Vanellope, princesses do **not** spark with bad guys!" He covers his mouth once he saw the tears streaming from her eyes. "Va- Vanellope... I-"

"You're such a hypocrite! I hate you!" She runs out of the throne room.

Candy lowers his hand as she leaves from his sight. His caramel eyes went to his wife, who seemed intent on ignoring him. She lifted her head and left without a word. He slid to his knees in defeat.

Vanellope ran down the halls until she crashed into her room. She paces up and down her room with a scowl. Her eyes came upon her old backpack. An idea struck a chord in her. She grabs the bag and throws in a set of clothes, a pillow, a blanket, and a few health essentials. Just as she was about to zip up the bag, her eyes came across a small golden frame; it held a picture of Ralph smiling with his arms folded. She remembers her adventure in _Luigi's Mansion_, and was grateful to have the picture at that moment. Her fingers brushed against it before she placed it in between some of her belongings.

With bated breath, she slung the stuffed bag over her shoulder, and glanced towards her window. The glassy opening bangs gently as the winds raps against it. She opens the window and glances down. She jumps from the window, and glitches down to the ground. Her eyes scanned her surroundings before she sprints off of the premises. "If dad can make decisions without considering others emotions, so can I!"

* * *

The next day came with the queen knocking on the princess's door. When no one answered, she decided to open the door herself. "Vanellope," she calls out. No answer. "I wonder where she is. She couldn't have-" Anxiety set in as she realized what happened. She runs over to the dining hall with conviction in her voice. "This is all your fault!" With the death glare he was receiving, he didn't know if he preferred the silent treatment or not. "What did I do now?"

"Vanellope ran away from home!" Confection yells at him. "She did what?" Candy says as he drops his fork. "Guards!" he shouts. The Oreos rush into the dining hall expecting something to be out of place. "I want search parties to find Vanellope. She has run away! I don't care how, just find her!" The sandwich cookies salute before gathering the off-duty guards. "You better thank mod it's Sunday, or we would be in some really deep trouble. She's on the roster tomorrow! We could get unplugged. You better find her Candy or so help me-" The queen couldn't even finish her rant, and left the room.

* * *

(**A/N:** So Vanellope has run away from home. Can't say I blame her either. What will Candy do in order to bring her home? Will his family ever come to forgive him? And what about poor Ralph?! D: Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and more will be coming your way.

On another note: To the curious, Hero's Duty uses Sandtraps since they would probably be the successful product of what the Cy-Bugs were supposed to be. They are highly feral and violent creatures. They share their instinct to eat, kill, destroy, and reproduce with the Cy-Bugs, but they can be tamed if given food. They also share the ability to become what they eat, but they need higher quantities of whatever they eat in order to morph. The can only be seen during _Survival Mode_ in Hero's Duty when the first-person shooter is out of the Infected Tower. They can/will attack during gaming hours since they are programmed to be a random friend-foe entity; however, they may attack Cy-Bugs by chance.)


	19. Open Arms

**Disclaimer:** "Wreck-It Ralph" and all characters related to the movie belong to The Walt Disney Company, and/or their respective gaming companies. Wreck-It Ralph was created by Rich Moore, Phil Johnston, and Jim Reardon. Level Up! and any characters not associated in their own respective franchise belong to Berserkeroo. All rights reserved.

(**A/N:** So the chapter is finally here! Just like I promised, it is here before Wednesday. I don't know when I'll be able to write again since school is starting, but maybe by this weekend since it's Labor Day weekend. :) I'd like to thank all my readers, reviewers, and those who favorite Level Up! So here's your reward. :D As always, enjoy the chapter.)

* * *

Barking from several deviled hounds fill the streets of Pastille. Their chocolaty noses sniff about the grounds with fervor as they are released to lead the way to the runaway princess. Heavy hooves follow closely behind the candied canines. The saccharine equines gallop with their riders racing across the lands. The lead horse rears back as one of the dogs whimper while sliding down a sharp incline.

The deviled hound sniffs the ground a bit and retrieves a candy cane stick with her scent on it. The horsemen mutter to one among themselves; another dead end. The leader of the manhunt turns around to continue the search. Unknown to them, a masked figure stood on the tip of one of the candy cane trees.

As the guards pass the castle, the slim intruder scales the side of the castle wall. He took his cane and used it as a spring to launch onto a nearby pole. Now inside the castle, he comes across a few guards. Clever as usual, he took the pose of a nearby armor suit, and waited until they passed. With a sigh of relief, the thief runs to the door of the throne room with an arrogant look. "_Candy should be happy that I'm his ally otherwise this place would be one sweet looting haul,_" Sly laughs. Just as he was about enter, he heard the sound of a squabble.

Confection was obviously the louder one in the argument. Her sabre clashes against her husband's with determination. Candy thanked his lucky stars that he thought of a way for her to vent her anger towards him without it actually harming him. His moment of relief is what did him in, because as soon as he snapped back into his reality, she deflected his blade victory. He dusts himself off before addressing her. "I'm still angry with you." This he knew was true. She threatened him earlier with moving back into her old home in York until their daughter was found. "Cut me some slack Coni, I'm working on it. Everyone in Sugar Rush is trying to find her," he explains. Ever since Vanellope ran away, his ears have been on the receiving end of verbal battery.

The queen walks out of the room with an uncomfortable mixture of feelings, while her husband tries to call out to her. He didn't understand the rift he just torn between his family, and how deeply wounded his daughter must be at that moment. In his paternal rage, his perception was clouded, and it came into fruition that everyone was suffering from it.

Sly casually walks in with a charismatic grin on his face. "Candy, my man! Today has been absolutely great. Sly Cooper has been making some serious progress with all the tips you've been giving me. Carmelita is even impressed. With any luck, we'll be back in business and banking some serious coin." Candy was delighted for him, but he couldn't bring himself to work up a smile. "Oh that's nice." The raccoon twitches his ears with keen interest. "What happen with you? I heard some loud talking earlier. Get in trouble with the missus?"

"Like you wouldn't believe." Candy goes on to explain the situation to his thievish friend. Sly scratches his chin with a look of mischief. He has grown fond of the king, almost as if he were part of his gang, and he knew that the current situation wouldn't do anyone any good. "You're a smart guy Candy, I'm sure you'll think of something; you always do." The leader of the Cooper Gang took his leave with a new mission objective in mind.

* * *

Roxas was absolutely furious at the _snail's pace_ that his bikers were going in finding Vanellope. His eyes would occasionally divert from his task to see the progress of his search party. His wristwatch started to chime as soon as he got back on task. "Well?" he asks the biker on the other line. "No luck in the Sticky Swamp sir. We're running out of places in Pastille," Frapchesca Macchiato reports with a pout. "Then spread the search. Search Easter Island, search Candifornia! We're pressed for time here. It's already passed sunset!"

"You want us to search in Candifornia? We'd have to fly over the Maltic Sea! She left on foot, so how would she cross a body of water? With all due respect ambassador, I think you're adjudication is becoming a little foggy with your concern. Maybe you should take a break. You've been at it all day," the coffee-candy themed biker replies. "I don't need a break! I need to find Vanellope!" He hands up with a predatory growl in the base of his throat.

His wristwatch rings again. "What?" he shouts before realizing that it's an image of his girlfriend on the other end. "Taffyta? What do you want? Have you found Vanellope?" the black haired biker asks inquisitively. "No. I'm calling because some of your bikers are worried about you; I'm worried about you." Roxas shifts a lever on his bike to put it into _hover mode_. "I don't have time to relax. We could get unplugged if I don't find her."

"I know that, but your search is a little obsessive. Does this have something to deal with your fight? You won't talk to me whenever I bring it up," Taffyta responds before taking a turn into a tunnel on one of the course tracks. "I am not obsessed!" he glares at her. She gawks back at the furious look he was giving her. He sighs as he massaged his temples. "Look, I'm sorry, but I'm really busy right now. I just _need_ to find her. Besides, I need to talk to her. I love you Taffy," he ends the transmission before she could get another word out.

Roxas revs his engine and does a few dangerous maneuvers to clear his head. He makes his descent with quick speed, roughly landing on the powdery, chocolate road. The ambassador rides along the road in search of his _friend_, or was she his friend by this point? He didn't know. Whipney has been a messenger between the two as far as their current situation was concerned. His default percentage was getting higher, and with the way he felt right now, he knew that the number had to either be in the high seventies or low eighties. "_Ode to joy._"

As he continues down the road he contemplates on his status; he was worried about how Vanellope was faring on her end of their joint situation — _probably not well_. _Why was it so hard not to think about her?_ As if it weren't bad enough, he was treating his girlfriend badly. Sure he stepped up his game when it came to pushing work aside to spend time with her, but he was doing it more for the sake of keeping his default character at bay than to enjoy her company. He sighs as he runs the back of his arm against his watering eyes. "_I'm not a guy who can stand to break hearts. Maybe I should just dump her..._"

A familiar barbed motorcycle was stopped a quarter of a mile up the way; it was Almondandro with his usual stoic expression on his face. Roxas pulls over with a look of impatience. _Why wasn't he out searching?_ The usually silent racer rolls his eyes before opening his mouth once his leader was in front of him. "Search report. Status: negative," he says abruptly. _Oh well that's great. Why couldn't anyone ever bring any good news?_ The almond biker shifts his brow with mild interest. "What's wrong?"

Roxas knew Almondandro was one of his closest friends, and that he rarely talked so what harm could venting his stress do? He runs the information by him. As usual, he was stone faced and looked as if he didn't want to be bothered; but then the larger biker slapped his troubled friend. "Baka," he says bluntly. "Cheez-Its Andro! That hurt your fudger!" The ambassador almost retaliated until the red haired biker opened his mouth again. "Giving up is the easy and cowardly way out. You aren't a coward, and you have always been one to live on the edge. Burying yourself in work and avoiding everyone isn't the solution, and you know it."

"Besides... being a loner is my thing." Almondandro cracks a lopsided smile before giving a playful jab in Roxas's shoulder. Roxas returns the jab before mounting his bike. As he rode down the road, he made a quick remark with a laugh of victory. "Yeah right! You just don't want to hear Candlehead crying about it!" Almondandro flinches with a shocked look. True enough, he knew Candlehead was empathetic and would probably cry if Taffyta was sad about it, but he would let the snide reply go; at least for now.

Roxas drifts over to the front of the castle; entering the sugary confines without resistance. He was looking for the king, and knew the best place to start was the throne room. As soon as he came across the doors, he stated his name and requested permission. After acquiring permission, he addressed his king with a sincere apology. "I don't think I'm fit to continue searching for Vanellope Your Highness," he says with a lowered head. "Why? We need every able body. We have searched every stone and tree and she has yet to be found!"

The teen shakes his head in refusal. "I will send out my bikers that have yet to return from their game jumping sire, but I must not participate in finding her. I have a serious matter to attend to. The search is taking me from someone dear to me," he gives a bow before dismissing himself. Candy mutters a candy version of a swear under his breath. His family was torn asunder, his daughter has yet to be found, and they were pressed for time.

Taffyta circles around the tropical terrains track with yet another unsuccessful attempt at finding her best friend. She felt bad that she couldn't locate her. Vanellope was her friend, and she was having the worst luck. "I wish Ralph was here. He would probably laugh at us for taking so long," she wryly titters at the oversized wrecker. A muffled engine came from overhead.

She skids to a stop once she saw the biker blocking her path. "Roxas? What are you doing out here?" Roxas dismounts his bike with a grin. "I love you Taffyta, and I think that if I want to prove it, I should start by being honest with you," he starts off. "So why don't we find a nice and quiet place to talk, and I'll explain my bizarre behavior lately." Taffyta ponders leaving her duties to go talk about her relationship with her boyfriend, but her common sense was winning. "What about the search?"

"I have already talked about it with King Candy and he understands _sort of_. I just hope that once you know the truth, that you can be patient with me." Roxas gives her a nervous smile. "Of course I can. I love you Roxas," she returns the smile. The ambassador felt warmth in the pit of his stomach. "_Maybe going into default isn't that bad. How many characters can say that they get the option to fall in love with someone they care about all over again?_" Taffyta gets into her car, and follows behind Roxas's bike.

* * *

Confection leaves the Code Room for the umpteenth time since the incident occurred. The matriarch knew that her girl didn't leave the game, because the game log displayed that she was _online_. They would have found her ages ago if she as brilliant as she was. "_Using her glitching to hide her current position. The clever girl..._" Vanellope hasn't left the game since the night of the bar fight.

Candy ties the licorice rope to it's post before typing in the lockdown code on the portable controller to the Code Room. He hurries to his wife's side. "No luck huh?" Confection shakes her head as she lets out a sigh. _She's been doing that too much for one day_ he mentally notes. "She's somewhere out there living like some kind of street rat. I can't stand to hear about her living like that again Candy! I just can't do it." Her shoulders were visibly shaking at this point.

Right at that instance, the king knew that his selfishness and pride was clouding his better judgment, and it was costing him dearly. Out of his own wrath, he made a grave error. Now that he was acutely aware of just how bad his blunder was, he knew that his impression of a certain _someone_ was incorrect. He knew that he couldn't find Vanellope. He knew no one in the game was able to find her either.

On the other side of Game Central Station — in_ Fix-It Felix Jr. Extended_ — the game's antagonist was on a seemingly endless rage. Most of the Nicelanders — from the original part of the game — were hidden in their apartments, leaving Felix and Tamora to deal with the upset wrecker. The protagonist knew that he would have some repairs to do before opening hours, but his friend was about to level the entire city with his upgraded strength at the rate that he was going. "Got any ideas darling?"

Sgt. Calhoun rolls her head from side to side to mull over her options. "Well I've got a taser pistol with a decent range?" she offers jokingly. "Tammy, look out!" She grabs her husband around his stomach and moves both of them out of the way of an incoming cement brick. They take cover behind a turned over tree. "Well, I've got nothing..." In the back of her mind, she was giving silent admiration to her pint-sized lover for dealing with their highly destructive friend for all the years. "We could try talking to him again?"

Felix peers off to the side, using his peripheral as best as he could to reduce the chance of getting hit in the head with a brick. "Ralph... brother. Do you feel like talking about it now?" he asks with a gulp, he jumps back behind his hiding place — clasping his hands together to mutter a prayer to any arcade gods that may be out there. A loud thud echoes behind the question, followed by cracks trailing from the landing place of the furious _villain_.

Ralph leans over the tree to see his small, cowering friend and his much bolder friend with her finger on her taser pistol. He let out a sigh as rolls his shoulders. Most of his venting went towards destroying the town, but he knew from his time in Bad-Anon, that talking was always a good remedy as well. As he explains the events preceding the night prior, the irritation roils up within him.

Felix was speechless throughout most of the conversation; his jaw unhinged at the king's actions. "... I tried to visit her this afternoon, but Candy went to the measures of asking the Surge Protector to block my access into Sugar Rush! This is un-freaking-believable!" True to his nature, Felix was slow to vulgar words and even slower to violence, but his close friend was being treated unfairly. He shakes with a hint of rage. "This... this... blows!" He covers his mouth as. "Pardon me. He just threw me in a tizzy."

Sgt. Calhoun glares out towards the game's glass screen, wishing that the daggers in her eyes were thrown towards the candy king. "What the hell is his problem?!" she starts off. Her husband gives her a brief glance, which she returns with a longer stare. "Vanellope isn't here and I'm pissed so I'll curse if I want to. _I swear I want to blast the royal pain._ What's next: trying to ban us?" She points in between Felix and herself. "_Oh that'll be the day..._"

A loud roar echoes throughout the tunnel, gaining the attention of the trio conversing in front of the Niceland apartment complex. A luxurious white race car was heading their way; stopping a few feet in front of them. _They all knew that car._ "_Candy!_" they all hissed with a glare towards the monarch exiting his car.

Candy holds his hands up in surrender, hopefully to cease a potential shooting or thrashing. "What do you want you tight legged pansy?" Calhoun growls. He would have defended himself against the _unnecessary_ insults, but then again, he said his fair share of insults last night. "I need your help Ralph." Ralph rolls his eyes. "Well that's a surprise. Why should I help you?" he scoffs. "It's not really to help me, it's to help Vanellope and all of Sugar Rush. She has run away from home, and she's on the avatar screen tomorrow!" Felix wrings his hat in his hands with nervousness. "_They could get unplugged..._" he mutters.

Ralph was still expressionless in the presence of King Candy. "I'm sorry okay? I was so angry with how hurt Vanellope was, that I didn't think rationally. She's my daughter and I can't help being protective of her. I didn't know how much you meant to her until my wife told me. Please, please find her!" he clutches onto the pant legs of the silent demolitionist. "Please!"

"Okay, I'll find her, but I'm not doing this for you. I've got one condition though," Ralph holds up one of his large fingers. "Name it!" Candy piped in, somewhat relieved. "I want to find her by myself. I don't want anyone in my way," Ralph says as he pulls his legs free of the royal's grip. "Deal!"

Ralph enters the car with the king, and heads to Sugar Rush. King Candy made a quick stop to the Surge Protector to inform him of his cancellation on requiring a block on Wreck-It Ralph. The Surge Protector jots down the note with an unamused look. "Watch how frequent you change your mind King Candy. Blocks and bans are troublesome parts of the arcade system to work with. You may both proceed."

Now that he was in the game, he sets off to where he knew Vanellope would be hiding. As he heads in the direction of Diet Cola Mountain, he glances up at the rumbles of a fleet of flying motorcycles sailing back to the Rocky Road mountain range. For a moment, he could swear that he saw Taffyta pressed against one of the bikers. Shaking his head, he continues onward to his destination.

Ralph taps on the outlines of the rigid soda mountain with skepticism. His fingers seep through the intangible surface. With caution, he slips into the incorporeal wall and looks around for Vanellope. To his surprise, the place had changed; it was completed for one thing, and had a shimmering golden lock on the grand railway — an unlockable track. He jumped at the sudden plunge of a few Mentos falling into the scalding carbonated liquid.

One thing that didn't seem to change on the _official track_ was the sponge cake bed that lies tucked in the corner. On top of it, was a curled up figure facing the opposite direction. Ralph takes a few steps towards her. "Vanellope," he calls out quietly. She jolts at the sudden presence of the villain. "Ralph... Ralph!" she glitches above him to give him one of her pouncing hugs.

Ralph pulls her into his arms and places a chaste kiss on her lips. Vanellope pulls at his collar to hold her position, but she gladly accepted the muscular arms that made a comfortable sitting place. For a second, he thought he heard a muffled _I miss you_ come from her, but he wasn't sure. "Dad said he banished you. How are you here?" she asks with sheepish smile. "He came to get me to find where you ran away to," he replies as he carries her to her former bed. "So you're turning me in?" The wrecker laughs in wry amusement. "Would I ever sell you out?"

Vanellope's cheeks flush a bit at the comment, but replies with a _no._ "Then there's your answer." Her smile significantly broadens as she leans against him. She wanted to stay like this for a while longer, but somehow she knew that her comfort wasn't going to be permanent. "We need to talk Vanellope," he starts off. She winces. If Sgt. Calhoun had did her part, she did it thoroughly; meaning he knew her secret. A soothing breath escapes her pursed lips. She could handle this. Their relationship was so unsteady at that point, that she didn't know where to begin. Seeing her plight, Ralph makes a decision. "All right. I'll go first then."

"I didn't know about Doronjo flirting with me. I'm not used to that kind of thing so I didn't know what was going on with her until you guys had the fight. Doronjo can't compare to you." Vanellope's default starts to stir within her. _Of course a thief could never compare to her; she was a princess from one of the arcade's most popular collection of games._ She raps against her head with her fist. "_Stop it!_" Ralph notices the self-punishment, and decides to cease his words. By his guess, he could only come to the conclusion of her programming brewing an internal storm.

As he was about to ask if she was okay, she abruptly cuts off his chance of doing so. "I'm sorry about how I acted at the bar, but I'm not sorry for why I did it. She was testing my patience, and she said a few words that struck a little too close to home. I don't want to lose you Ralph." He could hear the cracking in her voice. "Just because someone else finds me attractive doesn't mean that I'll chose them over you." Wordlessly, he wished that she would have stayed to hear out his conversation with Doronjo the night that the fight broke out, but it could wait. They had the remainder of the night. "I'm not worried about losing you to _her_, at least not anymore. I'm concerned about my programing resetting itself. I have been pushed to my limit and I don't know how high my default percentage is now."

Ralph pulls her closer to him, resting his chin on top of her hair. His thoughts were going to the distant words that his friend Bowser had warned him about. _When you see that your princess is in another castle, you'll regret it._ His eyes snap open with the words fading into an echo. Nothing that he could think of could combat against the situation at hand. It stung him right in the ego that he couldn't relieve her of the stress. All that he had was himself, and sticking by her side through it all. A faint mutter came from under his chin. "As a kid, I never imagined the word _love_ would ever mean something like this to me, but I'm saying it. I love you Ralph."

Ralph physically stiffens at the declaration; his eyes slowly lower down to hers. _She loved him?_ The silence was becoming more evident with the amount of time that was passing. Vanellope shifts in his arms, curling into a ball. She couldn't look at him. Anxiety set in as he has yet to say **_anything_**. "_What did I just say?! He doesn't love me back. This is so embarrassing..._" Her heart felt as though it was shattered into bits.

Vanellope almost wanted to give into her acutely sensitive feelings that came from her default and cry her eyes out, but she didn't want to do that; not in front of him anyways — that much of her was still left fighting back, but for how long? A robust chuckle came from behind her. "Well that's one less thing off of my back. With all the secrets, distance, and hiding, I thought you were having second thoughts," he sighs.

Vanellope glares at him before punching him in the arm. "Ow. One minute you say you miss me, and the next you jab me in the arm. That actually hurt you little troll," Ralph replies as he rubs his arm with a pout. "I'm not a troll Lieutenant Snotface, and it's your own fault," she retorts with a scowl. "How is it my fault? You just punched me!" She blushes while looking away from him. "You're the one who has me acting like some Disney princess with these conflicting girly emotions. You're being more of a pain in my butt that Rockhead." The wrecker rolls his eyes at her; though he was flattered that if anyone was to make her flustered, that it was him. If that were the case, he could definitely get used to her _girly emotions_. She peers over to him. "What's with that goofy grin?"

Ralph goes into a small round of laughter, earning himself a questioning look. "It's nothing," he assures her. It was her turn to roll her eyes at him. "You're weird, but I like weird," she says before giving him a raspberry. "You're going to quit doing that one of these days," the wrecker vows with a lopsided grin. "Oh? And what are you going to do about it Stinkbrain?" Vanellope says with an equally arrogant look in her eyes. Instead of answering her with words, he decided to show her. He softly bites down on her partially displayed tongue, grabs her by the chin, and tops things off with an amorous kiss. A smirk came upon his lips as he notices her current full-body blush.

After a few more moments, they depart from their kissing euphoria. "If you keep that up, I might stick my tongue out at you more," she admits as her skin returns to its creamier hue. They share a laugh before something strikes their head. "Ouch!" they chorus in unison as they look around. Ralph looks down and finds a cracked jawbreaker. He picks up the candy with a questioning look. _What was a jawbreaker doing in a mountain with Mentos stalactites?_ If anything, that should have been what hit them on the head. "What the heck was that about?" he hears Vanellope complain. Another jawbreaker materializes before falling, but this time they were prepared to dodge.

"Do jawbreakers just materialize out of thin air here?" Ralph asks as he looks out for more of the hard candies. "Of course not, they grow out of the ground like everything el-" she pauses in mid-sentence to think of something. "I think it's our spark..." A smile etched onto her face as the words fall from her mouth. "Wait. We sparked. We sparked!" she jumps up into a cheer.

Another jawbreaker would have hit her on the head, had Ralph not caught the raining pain from above. He places the candy on the bed, watching it disperse from existence. "I've heard that love hurts, but this kind of pain requires a helmet instead of chocolates. Sheesh! Why can't ours be normal?" he wonders aloud. "Since when has _anything_ involving _us_ been normal?" she replies with a joyous smile headed his way.

Ralph returns the happy gesture with one of his own, deeming that — although it wasn't painless — he wouldn't trade this experience for anything the arcade had to offer. He pulls her in for another subtle kiss, but something about it was _off_. Vanellope's eyes coated with a weird staticky blue haze. She violently convulsed for a few moments and loses her balance. Luckily for her, she was already in Ralph's arms; otherwise she have might been in some trouble. "Vanellope... Vanellope! Are you okay? Wake up, please!" he was about to start having a panic-attack.

Vanellope murmured something in a muffled language before the static leaves her eyes. The soft, natural color of hazel returns to her eyes with a hint of fatigue. She smiles up at him with a bit of relief. "Vanellope, what happened?" he asks while worry still strickens his body. "I felt something deep inside feel like it was being cut with a sharp blade... I think the ties that my code had with Roxas are severed now." She tests her ability to walk; noting that Ralph was within arms reach if she needed him. After a few more firm steps, she deemed that she was perfectly fine and capable of racing.

"You sure about this?" The racer pinches his cheek with teasing affection. "You're my boyfriend, not my mother. I'm fine," she promises as she demonstrates her wellness. "You know nothing can, or will, ever keep me from racing again. Maybe you should get back to your game. The arcade opens in an hour." Ralph wanted to decline her offer, but work came first in the arcade — least one desired their game unplugged. "I'm still coming back after hours to check in on you."

A wry chuckle escapes her pursed lips. "Wouldn't have it any other way Ralphie-boy."

* * *

(**A/N:** So here's the end of the chapter. They spark at last, and very corny in my opinion, but I still like it. XD Truth be told, this chapter has three routes that I wanted to take — this route, a moderate route, and a darker route — but this fanfic has a set chronology since it follows this years calendar. As far as all that has come to pass goes, I think we're in mid-October in this chapter. If I didn't care about the chronology of the fic, I probably would have done the _moderate route. _Don't worry though, that's what **Bonus Level!** is for. I will write the alternative routes the story would have taken had I chose them so you guys get the best of both worlds. :3 School is starting tomorrow so I'll be busy. I still will make Jawbreaker art as well as write whenever I can.)


	20. Hungry Eyes

**Disclaimer:** "Wreck-It Ralph" and all characters related to the movie belong to The Walt Disney Company, and/or their respective gaming companies. Wreck-It Ralph was created by Rich Moore, Phil Johnston, and Jim Reardon. Level Up! and any characters not associated in their own respective franchise belong to Berserkeroo. All rights reserved.

(**A/N:** _Rocky Rooster:_ Well, I wanted to do that, but I have plans on using candy hearts for another Jawbreaker fanfiction so I decided against it. I don't like to recycle my ideas. Characters; yes. Ideas; no.

_CraftyKoranian:_ Thanks for sticking with me through it all then.

_Just a person:_ Then maybe I'll write a chapter for it in Bonus Level!, when I get to posting the one-shots. Have a few chapter outlines for it done, but I won't get to posting it until after Level Up! is finished.

Okay, I know I said I would have this done by Sunday, but heck, college has been one big pain in the butt! :\ I've been writing a paper for art history, doing coding for my computer science class, paintings for my painting class, and I have a sketch book assignment that's due tomorrow! To be honest, I don't know why I'm crazy as hell to think about posting this chapter instead of finishing up my drawings. On another note, I've paid a homage to the Koopalings in this chapter. You get a cookie for guessing what it is. Okay, not a real cookie since I can't send it through the computer. Oh well, here's the chapter and hope you guys enjoy.)

* * *

As per usual, the arcade came to a close around the usual eight o'clock mark. Vanellope came to a screeching halt at the finish line. Most of the racers, bikers, and surfers were giving her a look full of curious scrutiny, but none wanted to approach her; though Taffyta was looking more indifferent than usual that day. However no one was given the chance to approach her since she was already shifting her car back into drive. The car was already at the end of the candy road that led to the Sugar Rush train port; she had places to go, people to see, and a promise to keep. No one even bothered to try to stop her from leaving. Besides, what would they say if they did?

By this time, Vanellope was halfway to the gate that leads to _Fix-It Felix J_r.: Extended; until she took heed to the shadow soaring above her. Sgt. Calhoun was on the same route to the vintage game. The older woman gave her a salute before dismounting her board once they were in front of the gate. Now that she was ensconced in the passenger's seat, she indulged in the short trip to their favorite hero-villain duo. Brilliant beams of brightness engulfed the entryway to the end of the tunnel; now fading into a dusky darkness.

Ralph was once again purging himself of the contents of the mud puddle. He pulls at the fibers of his clothes with examination. They were somewhat clean, but he could handle his hygiene afterwards. Once he received his well-deserved compilation of praise from his fellow game residents, he headed over to Felix.

Felix gave him a broad grin of approval. "I see your mood has significantly improved. Take it that things went smoothly with the little missus," he asks while putting away his trusty tool of trade. "It did! The most incredible thing happened, but I would have to bring Vanellope to share this. I promised I would -" The flash of the headlights and sudden loud horn had him practically jumping out of his skin texture when the car made its sudden appearance. _Guess certain things will never change._ A pair of impish laughs came from both sides of the car. _Some things just never get old._

As he was composing himself from his spook, his girlfriend was already upon him with a kiss upon his cheek. A smile crept upon his mug. _Life could be so sweet_; but sweetness from this racer came with more intention than meets the eye. "I need your help," she says with a wide grin._ Of course there's a catch._ He rolls his eyes at the statement. "Please," she flashed him _the face_. Felix and Calhoun recoil at sudden exposure to the irresistible pout. "Darn it Ralph!" they shout. "Fine," Ralph agrees as he unveils his eyes. "Thank you," she plants a chaste kiss on his lips.

"What do you need help with?" he asks.

Vanellope smirks up at him. "I'm not the one who needs the help. I've been skimping around my responsibilities as a consultant for Princess Peach's wedding, and she wants the both of us to help out on the preparations." Ralph's face pulls up in bewilderment. "When the heck did that happen?" He was starting to wish that he didn't cave into _the face_ so easily. "When you decided to eat that cake she made for you..." he looks at her with indictment, "Come on Ralph. I promised, and Bowser is one of your close Bad-Anon buddies."

"All right, all right," Ralph sighs. "Bowser is getting married? That's just swell, is there anything Tammy and I can do to help." Calhoun snaps up from inspecting her nails at the sudden announcement of the unwanted request for her assistance. She glances at Vanellope. "_Come up with an excuse_," she mouths. A wicked smirk curled into the tangled mind of the teen;_ should she help her friend or not?_ Decision, decisions... _Eh, why not?_ "I don't know Felix. She has a specific vision and she picked out a select few to do the job. You're more than welcome to come to the wedding though," she ends on a lighter note.

Felix swings his fist in triumph. "Well that's just sounds fine and dandy to me. I'd be tickled pinker than a rose petal to go," he holds his hands on his hips with pride. "Good. Then that leaves me and my handyman alone to have some _quality time_ in the apartments." Vanellope gave her a look to see if she guessed right on what she meant by quality time. Calhoun shakes her head with an urge to suppress her laugh. "_Oh thank you! I would still like to be able to go back into Felix's apartment._" She blushes at the thorough job of the tricks her mother and friend had taught her. "_My life is about to become rated M..._" After taking a moment to prepare, she admits to herself with veracity. "_... and I'm okay with that._"

Truth as it was, she wasn't as nervous about accepting the fact as she thought. A sort of euphoria came with the acceptance of her new level of romance. Now as to how she would go about with using the newfound knowledge was another question. "_Life was so much simpler when I thought boys had cooties._"

Ralph snapped his muscular fingers in front of her face. "Huh, what?" she says while looking a little lost. "Are we going to go or not?" He looks off to Calhoun and Felix. Guess telling them could wait until later, then again, they appeared as though they would be in their own lover's world for a while. A small hand took his and leads him to the passenger's side.

Vanellope slid over the hood of her car, and entered from the driver's side of the racing vehicle. The pair outside of the car gave them a thumbs up before their departure.

* * *

A large assortment of Toads and Koopas were scurrying about the large castle ballroom. "Come on everyone, we have a wedding to finish in less that a player's week!" Daisy shouts across the hall with a clipboard in hand. Zelda waves the bossy brunette off before transforming into Sheik. _He_ climbs the walls to spread the curtains onto the windows. Vanellope and Ralph walk into the room, examining the artistry that went into the decor.

"Ralph, do you mind telling Daisy that we're finally here to help? I've got some business to discuss with Peach," Vanellope says, already walking away from him in search of the blonde princess. The search itself didn't take long since the mushroom princess was in the hallway talking to a chef about the hors d'oeuvres. "Hey Peach, long time no see," she says with a wave. "Hello Vanellope. How has things been? I wish you could have come a little earlier though. We have been in a real pinch these past couple of weeks," Peach greets with a friendly handshake.

Vanellope rubs her right leg against the back of her left. "Yeah, about that..." She looks around the corners before curving her index finger in a _come closer_ gesture. "Remember how you said that what happens between princesses stays between princesses?" Peach slowly nods, her interest now keen on the sudden appearance of whatever the sugar princess was about to confide her with. "Okay, the craziest thing has happened lately, and it all started with the upgrade we had in the summer." She runs through the information as concisely as possible. "Oh I am so sorry to hear about that Vanellope. Now I feel like I sounded rude with worrying about my wedding. Is everything okay with Ralph? I can give you a few meditating exercises to keep your mind off of your _d-word_," she offers. "Well, isn't that great. I wish I would have came to you sooner," she gives a wry laugh, "... but I don't need to worry about that anymore since Ralph and I sparked last night."

Peach was jumping in her pink-heeled shoes. "That is wonderful. Oh my gosh, when is the wedding?" she almost shouts. Vanellope takes a step back. "Wedding? What wedding?" she asks with a look of puzzlement on her face. Peach eases off of her gleeful high at the assumption that there wouldn't be a wedding. "There won't be a wedding? But... You two sparked... Don't you want to get married," she asks equally confused. A thought came across her mind. _Maybe she didn't know._

Vanellope leans from one leg to another in thought. "I didn't say that I don't want to get married to him or anything, I just don't think that either of us should jump the gun just because our codes have romantically synced is all. Players do it all the time, right?" she asks with her hands now in her hoodie's singular, front pocket. Peach contemplates on telling her — since she obviously wasn't clear on a few details — but she decides that it's the job of either her parents or her mate. "We can discuss this later Vanellope. I think that Daisy could use your analytical skills for the head table. They've been discussing it for days. The Toads and Koopas have different viewpoints on what they think is _traditional_." A crash came from the ballroom, followed by a frustrated growl from Daisy.

Ralph hoisted a long table by mid-section, easily carrying it across the room to its designated area. Roy Koopa watches on with fascination. "King Dad has such great taste in friends. He's a villain, he's a hero off the clock, he's strong, and he gets to break stuff without getting in trouble! If it weren't for King Dad, he would so be my idol!" he says in reverence. "Roy!" The pink Koopaling turns around. "Quit daydreaming and help me lift this table," Morton says with snort. "Yeah, yeah, yeah," the larger Koopa says before taking the other end of the table. They grunt once the weight of the table was upon their broad shoulders.

Wendy wafts her wand above head, leading the sheets and silverware to be neatly placed upon the descending tables. She grins in triumph before beginning another incantation. "Wendy, King Dad said no magic in Mama Peach's castle! Just do the labor you lazy Koopa," Larry scolds her. "King Dad always said it's nothing being cheatsy Larry. Unlike you nitwits, _I_ can handle my scepter," she chides with a less than impressed temper. "Oh yeah?!" he shouts with scowl. "Duh!" He laughs. "That's big talk coming from the fashion disaster of the family you overgrown kootie. Lemmy has more style than you do," he growl. "What did you say to me?! You want to take this outside!"

A loud whistle came from next to the feuding siblings. "Do I need to get Mama Peach? I'm sure King Dad would love to hear our sensitive _mother_ crying her heart out about her rambunctious children fighting over their wedding. It's quite the pity, really. I'm sure King Dad would probably ground you both in the lava pit for a few days," Ludwig says with a roll of his eyes, though he was clearly enjoying their fear-stricken features. Both of them gulp at the mention of their father punishing them. "Magic, schmagic. Who needs it right?" Wendy says with a nervous smile.

"Yeah, who needs that when we have our well behaved siblings to help get things done?" Larry gives her a half hug in the presence of their eldest brother. Ludwig smiles. "_That cruel jerk!_" they both thought in unison. Iggy accidentally drops one of the glasses from a table that he was lifting. "Uh-oh," he gulps as he notices his older brother. "Come on brother dear, let's hop to that table and help Iggy like good siblings," she declares. The pair flees post-haste from their music-loving brother. "_Peace once again,_" the eldest Koopa says with a haughty breath.

Vanellope walked passed the smug Koopaling on her way towards the Maid of Honor. On her way there, her minor distraction caused her to bump into the backwards-walking Sheik. She glances up to the shimmering pair of crimson eyes. "Didn't know you were on the committee Zelda, I mean Sheik," she says with grin. _He_ simply ruffled her candy-laced hair with the faintest tug at _his_ cheeks; giving the hint that _he_ was smiling behind _his_ mask. After the luncheon, the princess in disguise had grown a fondness for how adorable the girl looked. It also didn't hurt that she had a fun personality either. The shapeshifter gives a brief bow before leaving to do more of the tasks at hand. "_Calling him.. her.. them by the right name is going to take some practice,_" she notes.

After departing from the warrior, she finally reaches Daisy. "It's about time you showed up Vanellope. It's been worse than the nine difficulty levels of Satan's Hollow," she exasperates. "His name's Satine Daisy. He's... not too keen on his given name," Vanellope rectifies. The flower princess scrawls over the invitation list to correct the naming error. "Okay, well we have the heavy lifting going to Bowser, Ralph, Zangief, and the Koopalings. The cooking is handled, the basis of the theme is set, so all that is left for you to do is to pick up the dress from the bridal store and assist around with the decorating head table," she adds another check as she notices that another section of the room was complete.

"It's a good thing I drove here," she says. "You could have used one of our karts if you didn't," Daisy says as if it were no trouble at all. "I could have done that, but _Cluster Buster_ is special and the fastest thing in this arcade," the racer proclaims. "It's a good thing Sonic isn't working today or he would probably want to challenge you for that." Vanellope shrugs. "I don't care. The blue blur can bring it on!" They share a moment of laughter before Vanellope sets off to attain the dress.

With the wedding dress now in her possession, Vanellope heads back to the Mushroom Kingdom castle. "This thing is kind of heavy. Is she sure she'll be able to walk in this?" she mutters, taking a swift glance to the dress. She parks on the concrete lot of the castle before going back inside.

As she returns from her task, she glances around in search of where her boyfriend's current location could be. She was sporting flushed cheeks once she saw him and Bowser relocating two massive, marble statue of the king himself and his bride-to-be. She could see the muscles at work from beneath his shirt. Nonchalantly, she pulls at the collar of her hoodie. "_Maybe I should have worn something else,_" she contemplates before tending to the head table.

Peach was going from chair to chair with decorative flowers in hand. "They are definitely pulling out all the stops," Vanellope says as she takes a few of the flowers and began to tie them to the chairs. "Well it is a wedding Vanellope. You'll want everything to be perfect on the day that you take Ralph as your king right?" The sugar princess lolls her head from side to side while mulling things over. "I guess so. It's nothing that needs to be rushed though," she says with a minor blush returning to her face. Peach pulls her lips into a smile with a stifled chuckle escaping her.

After symmetrically moving the equally large marble statues on their respective sides of the table, the _villains_ took a moment to catch their breath. "This thing really weighs a ton, and this is coming from a guy who can lift racecars," Ralph says with a wry laugh. "Yeah, well what are you going to do," Bowser says as a fanged grin peers through his muzzle. "Great job Bow-Wow, I think everything is ready," Peach says as she places a kiss on his snout.

A rough cough came from the wrecker as he tried in a poor attempt to try not to laugh at his friend's given pet-name. "I tried, but I can't do it," he said between snorts. "Bow-Wow? Really? You are never living this down." Ralph doubled over while he held his sides as he unleashed an outburst of laughter. Needless to say, Bowser was less than amused. "Oh yeah, well what were you saddled with?" he snorts a jet of soot from his nose.

"Stinkbrain," Vanellope answers for him as she walks up to his side. She raises an eyebrow, daring him to deny her name of endearment that she gave him. Bowser's left eye was starting to twitch at the weird choice of pet-name. "_And he thought my pet-name was weird?_" Ralph on the other hand, had no problem with his name of endearment. He's had it since the day that they met, but he couldn't let her just one-up him. "Boogerbreath," he responds with an equally challenging look. The look on Bowser's face just got more confused. _What is wrong with them?_

"Snotface."

"Fartfeathers."

"Monkeybutt."

"Barfblossom."

"So that's your hero huh?" Lemmy jabs Roy in his four-ribbed, padded stomach from his ball. "Shut up or I'll pound ya hip in!" Roy vows with a fist ready to smite his brother. "Roy, why do you have to be such a bully," Morton says. "Shut it before Ludwig hears you big mouth. That kooky Koopa would do anything to get us in trouble," Roy retorts with a twinge of irritation.

"Okay, can you guys stop with the pet-names? They're getting really weird, and kind of gross; _not to mention you're embarrassing **me** Ralph_," Bowser says as he puts his claws over his face in discomfiture. He refused to look around the room at the attention that the two had attained. "All right. We're done for the day. You can all go home. _I need a drink from Tappers_," the Koopa king says before walking out of the room with Peach in tow. "Think we overdid it?" Vanellope asks as she grabs an hors d'oeuvre for the road. "Nah, I don't so," Ralph says as he takes the hors d'oeuvre from her and tossed it into his mouth. "Hey that was mine!" He replies, "You snooze, you lose," with a smirk.

"You know I never lose Ralph," she reminds him before glitching onto his shoulder and pulling his head back. Lasciviousness crept onto her face as the unsuspecting villain looks on with surprise. She leans forward to envelope him in a deep kiss. Her oral escapade was sensual with every caress that her tongue took in his crevices. A cat-like grin tugged at her the edge of her lips as she found exactly what she was looking for. Without a hint of shame, she triumphantly took the remnant of the hors d'oeuvre. "Couldn't let one little hors d'oeuvre go?" Ralph states. "Do I sense complaint? Besides, it was a little revenge for yesterday," she says before licking her lips. _Interesting flavor._ The eight-bit villain shakes his head. "_Women._" She gives him a more chaste kiss on his cheek. "_... gotta love 'em._"

As the couple enters the sweetly decorated car, a thought struck Ralph. "Hey Vanellope, I think we should tell our friends about yesterday," he suggests. Vanellope gave the idea little thought since she was officially free for the day. "Sounds good. Let's do it," she says as she starts the engine, but gives a pregnant pause. "Can we tell my parents last though? I'm still a little ticked off at dad, but at least mom deserves to know." He saw no problem with her request; after all, being banned from _Sugar Rush_ still didn't sit right with him. "Sure. I think we should go to Tamora and Felix first. The last thing I want is for Tamora to get offended about not being one of the first to know..."

"Not to mention that Felix might take it personal if we didn't," she chips in.

* * *

The sweetly designed car returns to the game, _Fix-It Felix Jr._ The pair enters the large apartment complex, heading to the top floor, where the game's protagonist lives. Vanellope gives Ralph a side-glance before deciding that it was best that she should knock on the door. After a few seconds, their small chum answered the door. "Oh, hi guys. Back so soon?" He opens the doorway to let them into his abode.

They could hear a faint sigh from the back of the apartment. By the time they got to the living room of the penthouse, Tamora had already risen into a sitting position. Obviously, the woman was enjoying the comforts of a peaceful living space since she wearing her casual clothing in lieu of her skin-tight black armor.

After Felix had made his entrance, the two gave each other a look. The experienced marine knew that they wanted to say something, but as to what it could possibly be was still a mystery to her. Since she couldn't guess, she tried the next best thing. "All right. Spill your guts," she states. "We wanted to give you guys some good news," Vanellope starts off with a smile. It was Felix and his wife's turn to glance at each other in mystification. "We sparked yesterday," they announced.

"Well lather me in butter, and call me a biscuit! Congratulations," Felix commends with _honeyglows_ flushing his face. "Yeah, congrats on the one-up on your relationship status soldiers. When's the wedding?" Calhoun asks with a genuine smirk replacing her usually sarcastic one. Vanellope was feeling a mixture of perplexity, awkwardness, and uncertainty. _What was with everyone and the whole wedding schtick?_ "It just happened yesterday guys. What's the rush on getting married? Shouldn't couples, I don't know, enjoy their relationship a awhile before jumping the broom?"

Calhoun wanted to smack herself on the forehead. She knew she forgot to explain something when she and Confection were giving Vanellope _the talk_. "_Nope. I'm not explaining this one. This is all on her parents... or Ralph,_" she mentally concludes. Felix looked at her as though he wanted to explain, but she shook her head. "Don't worry about it. We're happy for you two," he offers instead. "Well that marks you guys off of our list, we've still got Satine, Eggman, Yuni, Kairi, Zangief, Taffyta, Snow, Candlehead, Roxas, mom and... _dad,_" she says the latter with little amusement. "We'll be a bit busy today so I'll see you at opening Felix. Bye Tamora," Ralph says as he ushers her out of the apartment.

* * *

Their journey throughout the arcade has been immensely fruitful since they left their friends in the Niceland apartments — though there was the constant mention of a wedding. Vanellope was tempted into asking Ralph what was with the interest amongst their friends about their eventual marital life, but brushed it off as everyone being hopeless romantics. Underneath it all, Ralph did have a desire to marry her, but since she wasn't aware or ready, he knew he could not — or would not to be more precise — force her into accepting. For now, he was fine with biding his time.

After making their rounds, the blissful couple found themselves in Sugar Rush to visit the last characters on their lists. Just up ahead, they noticed the familiar form of Roxas pushing his mangled bike to the factory. As they got a closer view, they noticed that he was sporting a few scars alongside his scowl. "Holy mother of monkey milk. Roxas, what happened to you?" Vanellope questions as he just took notice of their presence. _Man he was out of it._ "Me and a few bikers got attacked by freaking Abominable Snowballs! They started shooting bows at us and destroyed our bikes," he snorts with his crimson eyes vowing revenge towards the coconut natives. She started to snicker at his predicament. "Abominable Snowballs? They're so small and cute Roxas. What really happened?"

"Small? **Cute?** I don't know what those overgrown cream puffs looked like before the upgrade, but those things aren't so little. **They're huge!** They're like yetis! They make _him_ look normal!" he says as he thumbs over to Ralph. "Well what do you expect? They hibernate during the fall. You probably woke them up. Don't get that close to their reservations again Rockhead," she informs him. "Whatever. Hopefully, I can get my bike up and running before ten. Me, Almondandro, and Whipney challenged the Biker Mice from Mars bikers to a race!" Roxas could feel the eyes of Ralph on his back, but he chose to ignore them. "So what are you two love birds doing today?"

"Nothing in particular; just spreading some news. We sparked yesterday," Vanellope informs as she leans into the left side of his peripheral. The ambassador stopped in his tracks. "Congrats squirt! That probably explains that random burst of pain yesterday. At least Taffyta doesn't have to worry about _that_ now. She was kind of... _uncontrollably angry_..." he hunches over in fear at the wrath of his girlfriend. Vanellope looks over to Ralph with a look of apology. If Taffyta was furious at Roxas, and probably her too for that matter, then wouldn't that mean that he might be angry with her for keeping her default status a secret? As if he could sense her inner plight, Ralph wraps his arm around her waist. She places her hand on his in appreciation. "If you're going to tell her you might want to be prepared to get yelled at," he warns, snapping the couple out of their vestal affections. _Just great._ "Let's get it over with Ralph..."

After taking a few minutes in their quest, they finally found the racer chatting in front of a bakery. "Taffyta," Vanellope calls out. The platinum blonde glances back with scornful look in her eye. "Oh look guys it's the traitor," she announces. "Taffyta, that's uncalled for," Candlehead replies. "So if she was programmed to love Almondandro and didn't tell you, wouldn't you feel a little betrayed?" The birthday themed racer whines at the bitter remark. "Taffyta, don't lash out at Candlehead either," Snowanna steps between the two with glare. _Deep down, they both knew that Taffyta rarely bumped chests with Snowanna, and this time was no different._

"Look here Taffyta, this is something that I wanted to avoid. I know how sensitive and catty you can get when your feelings get hurt," Vanellope tries to reason with her. "Then you should have told me instead of trying to hide it. What do you expect me to think when I found out? For all I know, you might have slept with him." A firm slap was delivered across her face before could utter another word. The president glares at her as she lowers her hand. "_Backstabber..._" Taffyta mutters before stomping away in a huff. "Oh yeah, well at least I trust my friends!" Vanellope shouts back with her hands shoved into her large hoodie pocket. "Taffyta..." Candlehead calls out as she follows behind her. "We're going to go talk to her Van," Snowanna says before jogging off in order to catch up to her fuming companion.

Vanellope slowly exhales before taking notice of Ralph's eyes on her. "What?" Ralph rolls his eyes at her complete dismissal of what she has done. "You didn't need to slap her. You're a political figure, you know better than that," he scolds her. "Okay, I lost my temper, but you heard what she said. I wouldn't do something that would hurt the both of you that way. **That** is something special... and I want to share it with you, and you alone," she says while sincerely holding his gaze.

Ralph was always patient when it came to their relationship. Sure he wasn't the most experienced character when it came to relationships, but he never wanted to push her into something that she wasn't ready for, and to hear that she was willing to share that experience with him was immeasurably heartwarming. Though, all good feelings come to an end since he heard the others returning.

Taffyta had her heels in the chocolate dirt roads as it took both Candlehead and Snowanna to push her back to their other friends. "Come on and apologize already girl," Snowanna said through gritted teeth. The strawberry themed teen finally stopped her resistance and walked over to her. "I was out of line Vanny," she admits before slipping a lollipop into her mouth. "And," her friends inquire from behind. "_I'm sorry._" she finally says. "I'm sorry too Taffy. I should have thought more about your feelings than to hide it like child; and sorry about slapping you," Vanellope says with a hint of shame. "It'll go down with some ice." The two friends ended their apologies off with a hug.

"Now that we're all calm, we have some news for you guys," Vanellope says with a playful glint in her eye. "We sparked yesterday," they said in unison. An unyielding shriek of excitement assaulted Ralph's poor eardrums. He had to plug his ears in order to save them from the shrill outcry. _Clearly he wasn't used to being around easily excitable teenage girls._ "This is going to be awesome. We need to start planning the wedding, the engagement party... Oh my mod, we need to throw her a bachelorette party," Candlehead was bouncing on her toes. Vanellope quirked an eyebrow. "_What the heck's a bachelorette party? Whatever, time to defuse this bomb,_" she thought. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but there won't be a wedding, at least not yet anyways," Ralph says for her. "What are you a man or a mouse?" Snowanna says with clear despondency on her face. "All of you are a bunch of hopeless romantics," Vanellope says while casually disregarding their disappointment.

With the vivacious trio now checked off of the list, Vanellope worked up the nerve to finally go home. Sweetie Jill was the first friendly face she saw once they entered into the castle. "Vanellope! You had us so worried about you. Don't go running away again. I starting wondering if you would ever come back," the lavender candy says as she hugs her president on the leg. "Aw SJ, there's no way anyone is going to keep me away from home, let alone stop me from racing. Do you know where my parents are?" she asks with a smile. "Where else would they be? They're in the throne room doy," she teases.

True to her word, the royal couple was in the throne room rummaging through work files and doctrines. They almost missed their daughter's arrival into the room, but luckily her teal jacket stood out amongst the salmon colored walls. "Sweetheart you're home," Confection says as she envelopes her daughter in a tight hug. "_Cleavage mom. Not breathing._" Vanellope said with an effort to try to breathe. The queen loosened her grip enough to appreciate the hug that her daughter returned.

King Candy was a short distance away from the affection; no doubt feeling a tad uncomfortable with his behavior in the days prior. The fear of losing his daughter's respect and admiration far outweighed his wounded pride, so he decided to try to patch the gap that he created. With a sigh, he started out his apology. "I'm sorry for the way I treated you the other day Ralph; and I'm sorry for not considering your feelings Vanny." Vanellope looks over her mother's shoulder at his bashful appearance. _Curse her ever-forgiving nature, but she couldn't let something like this slide under the bridge so easily. He needed to learn that anything that causes quandary with Ralph would never be okay with her._ "I'll forgive you if Ralph does."

Both males wince at the sudden bluntness coming from the usually forgiving teen. Candy gives Ralph with an expectant look. The eight-bit villain felt a pulse run through him as he glanced over to Vanellope. _She was putting up a front._ A few thoughts went through his head: he could simply forgive Candy and let things smooth over, but he could also ignore the pulse he felt and deny Vanellope's reprimand tactic. _Whatever._ "I accept your apology Candy."

"Great! Now you've got a lot of explaining to do young lady," Confection immediately scolds. "_Of course_," Vanellope internally scowls. She proceeds in recapitulating the finer points of the night prior, up until the events of her arriving into the room. "The craziest thing is, that it feels like we're a lot closer," she adds on. "You felt that too? It was like I had a new sense of awareness," Ralph says, clearly feeling relieved that he wasn't the only one feeling the pulses. Confection felt a warmth in the pit of her stomach at the renewed love. "That's absolutely normal after sparking. Your codes did sync after all. It's not surprising that you might be able to peer into each other's head from time to time, or _finish each others sentences_," Candy joins in to finish the latter. They laugh at the oddity that comes with sparking. "_Okay, that might get mildly annoying_," the younger couple unknowingly agreed. They glanced at each other with hint of discomfort. _Oh great it's starting._

Ralph looks away with from her with a phlegmatic look on his face until another sharp pulse hit him. He glanced over to her to see that she if he could guess what kind of signal that she might have been sending, but he couldn't directly say for certain. Vanellope slowly glances over to him, now noticing that he was staring at her. A tinge of redness stained her neck at the sudden attention. "_Did I just send him a signal? Well one way to find out_," she ponders, before looking towards her parents as though it never happened. "Yes or no?" she asks out loud. "No," he says with firmness in his voice. "Well why the heck not!" she says as if she were a bit offended at being denied.

The older couple shares a glance at each other before Candy mouths, "_what are they talking about?_" Confection simply taps against her temple, insinuating that they were sharing thoughts. "Uhm, what's going on?" Confection finally asks. "She wants me to spend the night in the castle and I said no," Ralph says, ignoring the glare he was receiving from his peeved girlfriend. _Traitor._ "You still didn't say why? You haven't spent the night once since the upgrade," she retorts. Candy gave the wrecker a knowing look before dismissing him. "Ralph, why don't you head home early for the day? I think we need to have a talk Vanny." Vanellope let out an exasperated sigh. "_More talks? What could it possibly be this time?_" Ralph shrugged his shoulders and left. It saved him the _honor_ of explaining their _situation_.

"Vanellope, right now, your code is going through a transitional period. Both of your codes are unstable and highly malleable at this point. The reason why he can't stay in our game right now is because he might get integrated in our system if he stays too long, same thing goes for you if you stay in his game too long. He could get converted into a racer or you could get converted into a wrecker. You wouldn't have to worry about this sort of thing if you sparked with someone from your own game," Candy explains. "What about Tammy and Felix? She spends the night over at Felix's apartment all the time, and she hasn't been integrated into their grid."

Candy scratches his temple a bit before continuing. "That's because they're married Vanellope. Certain actions are required to make sure characters stay in their proper place. Think of how we let Turbo and his siblings stay in our game. They had no game to go back to so their code was extremely fragile; making it easy to integrate in our system. With a code that susceptible, they could have even been made a part of the gameplay. Your code is that level of vulnerable right now, and you can Game Over a lot easier now. Marriage makes a strong bond, thus making a strong code; and you'll both be properly integrated into each other's Code Room as each other's love interests without accidently being coded into the game."

Vanellope was really unamused by this point. She couldn't stay in his game long unless they were married. He couldn't stay in Sugar Rush long either._ How is that fair?!_ "Why the sudden urge to have him spend the night anyways?" Candy asks with a suspicious look towards his daughter. "Oh would you look at the time. Nighty night," the princess says while casually walking towards the exit. "Oh no you don't," he pouts. He grabs her by the ear and pulls her back into the room. "Dad. Ow, my ear," she says as she follows him back into the room. The king looks over to his guilty looking wife. "You gave her the talk didn't you?" he convicts. "She needed to know or she probably would have been doomed to going into default," Confection defends.

Candy releases his daughter's ear. "You know that her doing... **_that_** prohibited Chewish law," he reminds her. "I didn't hear you complaining back then," his wife chides with dismissal. "I didn't even convert to Chewyism until I married you," he shot back. "Yeah, but I still was and that didn't stop you," she says; not giving an inch. "Ew, too much information. I don't want to hear that." Vanellope reminds them of her presence. "Vanellope, I know the impulses are strong to do that, but you dad does have a point. It is Chewish law that you shouldn't _merge_ before you're married."

More and more, Vanellope was starting to understand that marriage was more than just a way to get the throne back. Her parents just had to rain on her parade, but she did take her heritage seriously. "Fine." Candy places a kiss on her forehead. "That's a good girl. Now go off to bed. You have to make up the lessons you've missed today." She lets out a grunt. _Man, parents never let up!_

* * *

(**A/N:** Oh yeah, Vanellope is Chewish by the way. It's similar to Judaism, but not quite. What?! You didn't that her parents spout random Yiddish for no reason did you? Sarah Silverman is Jewish, Fran Drescher — inspiration for Confection — is Jewish, and I have no clue what Alan Tudyk is, but for the sake of consistency, I had Candy convert to Chewyism after marrying Confection. This is going to be fun for the others to find out later. XD I will be busy throughout the week so I don't think I'll get to start writing the next chapter until the weekend.)


End file.
